Voting enters the night at Bantama, Tamale North

Voting beyond 5 pm into the night is expected not to pose any challenges in the December 7 elections as the Electoral Commission (EC) make provisions for such contingencies.

The EC has acknowledged long queues at Bantama in the Ashanti Region and Tamale North in the Northern Region.

“To ensure a seamless and orderly voting process in the affected polling stations, the Commission has provided rechargeable lamps to ensure that voting continues” in the constituencies.

In a statement, the EC further explained further that it had activated additional Biometric Verification Devices (BVDs) to speed up the voting process.

Security has been heightened as officially work to complete the process, the EC added.

Bantama is a stronghold of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the seat is held by Daniel Okyem Aboagye.

Deputy Chief of Staff, Kwabena Asenso-Boakye defeated Mr Aboagye in the primaries and he is going head-to-head with the NDC’s Joseph Amo.

The third candidate is the UPP’s Saahene Kwaku Stephen.

In Tamale North, the incumbent MP Suhuyini Alhassan Sayibu is being challenged by NPP’s Alhassan Dahamani, the CPP’s Abdalla Muazu and the PPP’s Mohammed Abdul-Nasir.

As of 5pm, 380 people were yet to vote.

There are 12 presidential aspirants with more than 1000 parliamentary candidates.

The twelve include the flagbearer of the NPP – Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, Presidential Candidate of the NDC – John Dramani Mahama, Brigitte Akosua Dzogbenuku – flagbearer of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), Hassan Ayariga of the All People’s Congress (APC), Ivor Kobina Greenstreet of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), David Asibi Ayindenaba Apasera of the People’s National Convention (PNC), among others.

Five of the 17 nominees who submitted their nomination forms with the hope of contesting in the polls were disqualified by the EC.

The five included two independent presidential nominees – Kofi Koranteng and Marricke Kofi Gane, and three political party-sponsored nominees; Akwasi Addae Odike of the United Progressive Party (UPP), Kwasi Busumbru of the People’s Action Party (PAP), and Nana Agyenim Boateng of the United Front Party (UFP).

A total of 17,027,971 voters are expected to cast their ballot in 38,622 polling stations across the 16 regions of the country.