The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has called for an investigation into the leakage of a defaced ballot paper for the presidential election in the Eastern Region.
This comes after the Electoral Commission (EC) ordered a recall and reprinting of ballot papers for the Eastern and Western regions after detecting a broken seal on electoral material.
Mrs Jean Mensa, Chairperson of the EC, disclosed that the decision was prompted by a report from National Security, which revealed that a single defaced ballot paper, earmarked for destruction, had been found outside the Checkpoint Printing House, the facility responsible for producing the ballot papers for the two regions.
Although all political parties agreed with the EC’s decision to recall and reprint the ballot papers, the NDC wants the matter extensively investigated and the culprits dealt with.
According to the NDC’s Director of Elections, Dr. Omane Boamah, although the commission has decided to reprint the affected ballot papers, this action “will never erase the entire risk.”
He further questioned the EC about the arrest of those responsible for breaking the seals on the ballot papers, stating, “In this case, we were not told whether the National Security or the police arrested an individual or group of people and whether they are in custody.”
Dr. Boamah urged the country’s security agencies, who are responsible for protecting the ballot papers, to “immediately announce if they have arrested any culprits, and if so, who they are.
“We are saying that the National Security, National Investigation Bureau, the Police, and the CID must let the public know who is involved,” he emphasised.
Meanwhile, the EC has rescheduled the special voting exercise for the Eastern and Western regions following the incident.
Initially set for Monday, December 2, the special voting for these regions will now take place on Thursday, December 5.
Special voting across the rest of the country will proceed as scheduled today, December 2.