Ballot papers for the special voting exercise in the Eastern Region arrived on Wednesday morning and have been distributed to all 33 constituencies in the region.
This development follows the destruction of previously printed ballot papers meant for the Special Voting and the General Election, initially scheduled for December 2 and December 7, respectively.
The Electoral Commission (EC) took this step after detecting a security breach.
Approximately 3.6 million pieces of compromised ballot papers were incinerated on Wednesday, with only the Afram Plains North and South ballots pending destruction.
Upon the arrival of the new ballot papers and supplementary Biometric Verification Devices (BVDs), representatives of political parties and independent candidates were present to inspect and seal the bags containing the ballots.
These sealed ballots were then escorted to their respective constituencies under tight security.
About 12,000 voters are expected to participate in the special voting exercise on Thursday, December 5.
Speaking on the preparations, the Eastern Regional Director of the Electoral Commission, John Appiah, assured that everything is set for tomorrow’s exercise.
He also mentioned that the ballot papers for the general Election are expected to arrive later in the evening.
He however said Afram Plains North and South have received ballot papers for both Special Voting and the general election due to the remoteness of the area.
“All the ballot papers for the special voting have arrived; we got them this morning at exactly 7:45 am, and we have distributed them to our district offices. Our officers were here, and all 33 constituencies have gotten their ballot papers for the special voting, so tomorrow the elections will come on. Afram Plains North and South have gotten their ballot papers for the main election”.
Meanwhile, the Eastern Regional Director of Elections for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Alhaji Sidi Bello, who supervised the process at the Regional Police Headquarters, expressed cautious satisfaction.
He noted that the EC’s efforts to meet the distribution deadline helped alleviate concerns about possible delays.
The Eastern Regional Director of Research and Elections for the Michael Oteng Adu was present to supervise the exercise but was unavailable for interview to seek his views.
Source : Kojo Ansah
