The Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana will conduct a special voting exercise on Monday, December 2nd, 2024, across 14 of the country’s 16 regions. Notably, the Eastern and Western Regions are excluded from this initial round of special voting. This special voting process is a key component of Ghana’s electoral system, designed to allow security personnel, media practitioners, and election officials who will be actively involved in the main election on December 7th to cast their votes in advance.
The EC anticipates approximately 131,478 voters participating in this special voting exercise. This represents a relatively small percentage of the total registered electorate, approximately 0.007 percent of the 18,741,159 registered voters.
The exclusion of the Eastern and Western Regions stems from a decision by the EC to recall and reprint ballot papers for those areas. This action was taken in response to a reported breach of security seals on the original ballot papers. To maintain the integrity and transparency of the electoral process, the special voting in these two regions has been rescheduled to Thursday, December 5th, 2024.
Ahead of the special voting exercise, Jean Mensa, Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, issued a statement reassuring the public of the EC’s commitment to a smooth and credible voting process in the 14 regions included in this initial phase. She reiterated the Commission’s dedication to addressing any concerns raised and upholding the credibility of the entire election process.
Further Guidelines
The EC has provided clear guidelines for voters participating in the special voting, emphasizing the requirement to present valid identification to polling officials. The special voting exercise is scheduled to take place from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at designated polling centers across the 14 participating regions.
However, it is important to note that votes cast during the special voting exercise will not be counted on the day of the vote. Instead, these votes will be tallied on December 7th, 2024, at the Constituency Collation Centers. The results from the special voting will then be incorporated into the overall results from the main election. Returning Officers at each Constituency Collation Centre will meticulously document these special voting results separately on both the Presidential and Parliamentary Election Results Collation Forms before combining them with the final counts from all polling stations.
Moreover, robust security measures have been implemented to ensure a peaceful and secure voting process. The National Election Security Taskforce will oversee operations at all polling stations. Political parties have also deployed their agents to observe the special voting exercise and ensure fairness. Independent election observers from various organizations will also be present to monitor the process and promote transparency.
In a final appeal, the Electoral Commission called for calm and cooperation from all stakeholders, emphasizing that the measures put in place are designed to ensure a free, fair, and credible election.
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