The Director of Research and Elections for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Evans Nimako, has expressed satisfaction with the Electoral Commission’s (EC) handling of ballot paper errors in the Volta and Ahafo regions.
His remark comes after discrepancies in the serialisation of the ballot papers were discovered, prompting the EC to reprint the ballots for these regions.
The announcement was made during the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting on Friday, November 15.
READ ALSO: EC to reprint Volta and Ahafo ballot papers to address serial number errors
Speaking on the development, Mr. Nimako commended the EC for its proactive approach, including convening an emergency Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting to discuss the issue.
“For us as the New Patriotic Party, we are satisfied…We really appreciate the EC’s decision to involve us in the discussions. It is their administrative responsibility,” he said.
“So far, we are okay but mindful of the timelines. We all need to work efficiently to avoid delays, as extensions could lead to additional costs,” he added.
He noted that the party’s main concern is ensuring the printed ballots meet the required standards without errors or inflation in numbers.
Meanwhile, the EC has confirmed its plan to destroy ballot papers with errors that have not yet been distributed to the Volta and Ahafo Regions.
In a statement released on November 16, the EC assured that representatives from various political parties would be present to witness the destruction of the faulty ballot papers. A Destruction Certificate will also be issued and signed by the observers.
“The re-printing of the ballot papers for Ahafo and Volta Regions will be undertaken by Buck Press and Acts Commercials respectively. As has always been the case, the affected ballot papers will be shredded and incinerated (burned). Both activities will be witnessed by Agents of the Political Parties and a Destruction Certificate will be issued and signed by them.”
The EC indicated that the automated system designed to ensure precise serial numbers had deficiencies, prompting the Printing House to implement a manual process to address these shortcomings.
Nevertheless, the Commission asserted that the manual system employed by the Printing House was infallible and could not be depended upon to deliver an accurate serialization of the ballots