Georgina Opoku Amankwah
The Electoral Commission (EC) has stated that it’s battle ready for this year’s elections, as it finalizes the procurement of materials for smooth conduct of the polls.
The Commission has secured about 98 percent of offshore items to be deployed across the country, especially at polling stations.
Some of the materials have already been transported to the various regions.
EC Chairperson, Charlotte Osei, interacting with the media in Kumasi, said the electoral body has been busily preparing the Biometric Verification Machines (BVMs) by uploading the voter’s register onto them.
Political parties are expected to pick their copies of the voter’s register next week.
Mrs. Charlotte Osei said the EC is well positioned to conduct free, fair, transparent and all-inclusive polls owing to the procurement of several items.
“Almost everything is ready for the elections. We are doing recruitments; as soon as we finish recruitment, the training will start. All the offshore items we need for the elections, between 98 and 99% are in Ghana. We have taken delivery of indelible ink, the ballot boxes, the voting screens, the demarcation tapes, the identity jackets for election officials, live jackets for people, who are working on river-line areas. Our pick-ups are ready and have been distributed,” she revealed.
According to Charlotte Osei, barring any hitches, the EC will start printing the parliamentary ballot papers by Friday.
“There are about 97 items we need to send to every polling station, and about 95 of those items are ready. Now we are preparing the Biometric Verification Machines (BVDs); we are uploading the register onto the BVDs. The register is ready. Once we load it onto the BVDs, then they would go out to the regions. We have started today [Wednesday] the process of printing for the parliamentary ballot. We’ve done the balloting for positions so the parties know where they would appear on the ballot paper, and we will start the printing of the parliamentary ballots probably by tomorrow or the day after because we need to inform the party agents and the security agencies to be there,” she explained.
She said the presidential ballot papers would be printed after the determination of suits brought against the EC by some disqualified presidential aspirants.
Electronic Transmission
On her part, a Deputy Commissioner, Georgina Opoku Amankwaa, told the media that the commission would meet the political parties to determine the mode of result transmission for this year’s elections before a decision is made.
“We’re now in the process of engaging a consultant for the transmission of result,” she indicated.
She called on the media and other stakeholders to exercise restraint.
The dialogue session, which sought to bring together the media and the EMB Commissioners, was organised by the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) to discuss measures being put in place to ensure peaceful and credible elections.
The Deputy Commissioner in-charge of Administration reassured the public of the EC’s commitment to delivering the most credible election in the history of this country, and added that the Commission intended to allocate two Biometric Verification Devices (BVDs) to each polling station on the day of the election.
Amadu Sulley, another Deputy Commissioner in charge of Operation, stated that the commission, which is mindful of the legal framework on the conduct of public elections, was determined to do the right thing and make the elections transparent as possible.
According to him, out of the 29 recommendations, only two of them were not rejected by the Commission, pointing out that the reforms led to the drafting of the new Public Elections Regulation 2016 (C.I. 94).
Media accreditation
Touching on media accreditation for the elections, members of the Commission said they were yet to take final decision on it since funds allocated to the EC did not cover that and that media houses might pay between GH?10 and GH?15 for accreditation if they do not receive any donor support.
Paulina Adobea Dadzawa, a commissioner, explained that the commission was in talks with other observers and the printers to determine the actual cost of accreditation cards.
“We will deal with your umbrella bodies such as the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) and the National Media Commission (NMC) to determine who should be accredited,” she asserted.
Ms Opoku Amankwaa asked the media not to declare winners of the presidential and parliamentary elections.
Prof. Kwame Karikari, former Executive Director of MFWA, called on journalists to critique politicians who make unsubstantiated allegations during the electioneering campaign.
From Ernest Kofi Adu, Kumasi