The Electoral Commission (EC) on Wednesday morning made ballot papers for the Special Voting exercise in the Eastern Region available and distributed to all 33 constituencies for the special voting today, Thursday December 5, 2024.
The Eastern Regional Director of Electoral Commission, John Appiah, said all is set for the special voting where about 12,000 voters are expected to participate in the Special Voting exercise.
John Appiah seized the opportunity to express his appreciation to the public, especially the security services, media personnel and officials of the commission for their patience and support for the EC during this challenge.
It would be recalled that the EC rescheduled the special voting exercise for the Eastern and Western regions from Monday December 2, 2024 to Thursday, December 5, 2024 due to the recall of printed ballot papers for the two regions.
The recall of the printed ballots and reprinting of ballots for the two regions were sanctioned by the EC in consultation with the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) after it was detected that a single defaced ballot paper earmarked for destruction had found its way out of the Checkpoint Limited printing house.
The Commission, together with the political parties, took the decision that in order to ensure guaranteed integrity, transparency and accountability of the election in the Eastern Region, the ballot papers for the region should be recalled.
The new ballot papers, along with supplementary Biometric Verification Devices (BVDs), were inspected and sealed by representatives of political parties and independent candidates and were transported under tight security to their respective constituencies.
Due to the remoteness of Afram Plains North and South, ballot papers for both the Special Voting and the General Election have already been delivered to these constituencies to ensure timely execution of the electoral process.
While the NDC’s Regional Director of Elections, Alhaji Sidi Bello expressed satisfaction with the EC’s timely distribution, the NPP’s Regional Director of Research and Elections, Michael Oteng Adu was unavailable for comment.
