We’re within election calendar — EC
The Electoral Commission (EC) has assured stakeholders of Ghana’s electoral system, especially political parties, that all activities outlined in the calendar towards the December 7 polls will be met.
It said the EC was within the electoral calendar it released in March this year for the conduct of the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections.
The Director of Training at the EC, Dr Serebour Quaicoe, gave the assurance in an interview with journalists at a forum organised by the Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG) in Accra on guidelines and procedures for election officers.
Attended by representatives of the various political parties, civil society organisations and the media, it was to provide a platform for the EC to brief participants on the clear guidelines to address potential irregularities during the counting and collation process of the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections.
Context
Responding to a concern raised by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) over the supposedly delayed release of the provisional voter register for the December 7 general elections to political parties ahead of the exhibition exercise, Dr Quaicoe said the commission was within time, and cited the need for accuracy and adherence to legal procedures in such matters.
The EC rescheduled the date for the 2024 Voters Exhibition Exercise, from the original August 1 to August 8, 2024, to August 20 to 27, 2024.
The electoral management body, in a release dated July 3, 2024, stated that the rescheduling was necessary due to the mop-up voter registration exercise, which was set to take place from August 1 to August 3, 2024.
EC
“We are within the law. We need not lose sight of the fact that mop-up was just completed last Saturday, August 3, 2024. So, are they ready for the figures without that of the mop-up data?” Dr Quaicoe asked.
He explained that upon the completion of the mop-up exercise on Saturday, August 3, 2024, the EC needed time to vet the figures.
“People have to bring the figures, and we have to vet them. We cannot rush to give out the figure to them. When there are errors, they will come back to us,” he said.
He emphasised that the EC was following the legal process, which involved adjudication and validation by the Chairperson, adding that: “We cannot sidestep any of the processes. We will get them when we are ready; we will do them before the exhibition”.
Regarding the request for a live broadcast of the presidential collation results, Dr Quaicoe said the EC had its own plans, which would be announced in due course, saying elections were not secret issues.
Polling station threshold
Dr Quaicoe further stressed that no polling station would have more than 750 voters for the 2024 elections. The decision, he said, was made to prevent confusion, and ensure timely collation of results.
“The threshold of 750 voters per polling station is aimed at streamlining the voting process and ensuring that results are collated efficiently and timeously.