Some Police and other security agency officials taking part in the special voting
Special voting takes place today across the country ahead of the general election next week Wednesday.
About 127,394 voters are expected to cast their ballots at 275 voting centres.
They are made up of electoral officers, police, prisons, fire service officers and journalists who would be performing special duties on election day, among others.
Voting is expected to start at 7:00 am and end at 5:00 pm, but counting of the votes will be on December 7.
Events leading to today’s special voting have created a bit of tension as the opposition parties are accusing the Electoral Commission (EC) of inflating the number of voters.
The EC officially came out with an initial figure of 65,000 and then the figure was pushed astronomically to 114,813 and then just about a week ago another 13,000 list popped up, raising serious concerns from opposition parties.
They (parties), especially the New Patriotic Party (NPP), are saying the figure for the special voting is too huge.
Amadu Sulley, deputy Commissioner in-charge of Operations at the EC, came out to explain that the new list contains 500 police recruits who would also be detailed to police the polling stations on election day.
DAILY GUIDE understands that there are about 800 journalists who would be casting their votes today.
Director of Electoral Services at the EC, Samuel Tettey, said at a press conference yesterday that centres for the special voting as well as the general election had distinctly been mapped out to ensure transparency of the electoral process; and that materials had also been dispatched.
DAILY GUIDE had wanted to get the breakdown of the categories of people casting their votes today from the head of communications at the EC but he told the paper that he was not immediately in the office to give the breakdown. He said he was engaged in a very important meeting as at 6pm yesterday
After the voting, the ballot boxes would be secured and put in the custody of the police until Wednesday, December 7 when they would be counted as part of the general election.
Political parties would be sending their agents to monitor the voting today after which they might also detail other party agents to guide the ballot boxes at the various police stations where they would be kept.
By Thomas Fosu Jnr