Special voting: Fire officer arrested for taking photos of ballot paper

An officer of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has been arrested in the Walewale constituency of the North East Region for allegedly taking a picture of his ballot paper during the ongoing special voting exercise.

Reports indicate that the officer, whose name has been withheld, attempted to photograph his ballot paper after casting his vote for the presidential election.

This drew the attention of party agents who called for his immediate arrest.

The Ghana Police Service in the area has initiated investigations into the incident.

Meanwhile, the Electoral Commission (EC) has issued a strong warning to the public against photographing ballot papers.

In a brief communiqué to media houses, the EC stated, “Every ballot paper is unique and has a unique serial number. People who take photos of their ballots and share them risk being easily identified. The serial number can help investigators trace the said ballot paper to the specific polling station.”

“Since no polling station exceeds 750 voters, it would be easy to identify the specific ballot paper. As we use thumbprints to vote and all voters’ biometric data is with the EC, investigators can easily narrow it down to the voter. Please, voters, don’t break the law thinking you can’t be found out!”.

The ongoing special voting is expected to end at 5:00 pm.