Officials of the EC and members of the Council of State in a group photograph after the engagement
The Electoral Commission (EC) has come out with a statement to rubbish information circulating on social media that some security personnel scheduled to take part in the special early voting on Tuesday, December 1 were not registered for the exercise.
According to the EC, those security personnel who could not be registered presented invalid EC Identity Cards for registration, hence the EC’s inability to register them for the special voting.
The EC explained that it took great care to compile the special voters register, adding it had to even contact those who fortunately had their numbers on the application forms to inform them about wrong identification documents for them to present the correct IDs.
The EC said members of the public must disregard such negative stories on social media, stressing that everything has professionally been done for the special voting to take place on Tuesday, December 1.
The EC asked those qualified to take part in the special early voting to check on the EC’s website to find out where they would be casting their votes.
The commission last Friday met the Council of State at the Ghana-Indian Kofi Annan Centre for Excellence (AITI- KAEC) in Accra, during which the Chairperson of the Commission, Mrs. Jean Mensa, assured the council that they are 98 per cent ready for a successful and peaceful elections come December 7.
“This morning we are here to give an account of progress we have made regarding the conduct of the Election 2020. I’m pleased to inform you that the Electoral Commission is 98 per cent ready for the successful, credible, fair, seamless and peaceful conduct of the election in December 2020,” she said.
Procurement of Logistics
The commission, she said, has procured a variety of materials for the election, including ballot boxes, thumbprint pads, stationary, identifications jackets, polling station booths, rechargeable lamps, indelible ink, educational posters and seals among others.
“As we speak, distribution of these items to our regions and districts has been completed. I can confirm that as a result of the thorough planning and distribution mechanisms employed, we are about 98 per cent done with the distribution of election materials to our various locations across the country,” she disclosed, adding that “what is left to be delivered are the parliamentary ballots and the results collation sheets.”
COVID-19 Items
Mrs. Mensa stated that in view of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on the country, the commission “immediately put in measures to procure COVID-19 items” to be distributed across the country to ensure the safety and security of everyone on Election Day.
The items procured include thermometer guns, veronica buckets, containers of sanitiser and liquid soap and tissue paper.
Public Education
In addition, the commission has commenced public education and advertisement on measures it is putting in place to reduce and eliminate stakeholder risks at the various polling stations on radio and TV stations across the country.
The adverts also highlight the requirement of citizens to wear face masks before being allowed to vote on Election Day.
COVID-19 Ambassadors
The Chairperson also announced that the commission has recruited special officials named “COVID-19 Ambassadors”who will be deployed to all 38,622 polling stations throughout the country.
Their duty, she said, “will be to enforce the COVID-19 protocols and ensure that the sufficient supply of COVID-19 items to the centres is put to effective use.”
Biometric Verification Equipment
The commission has procured a total of 74,800 brand new biometric verification devices for the election to enhance the integrity and credibility of the polls.
The devices have been prepared and distributed to the districts across the country. It is expected that the enhanced features of the devices will speed up the verification process and go a long way to ensure that only persons whose biometric details are captured in the system vote on Election Day.
2020 Voters Register
Following the preparation of a new voters’ register, the EC Chairperson intimated that the register embodies unique individuals only.
A total number of 17,029,971 voters are on the register, she indicated, adding, “We are confident in the credibility and integrity of the 2020 voters register and are pleased with the collaboration and cooperation of the citizenry at all levels, particularly at the district level, as well as the magistrates, to ensure that only eligible Ghanaians participated in the process.”
By Nii Adjei Mensahfio