The Electoral Commission (EC) has begun dispatching ballot papers and other electoral materials for the December 7 polls to the various districts.
The materials that were kept at the Ashanti Regional Police depot were transported to the districts and will still be manned for the police before finally being released on election day.
Ashanti Regional Chairman of the National Democratic Party (NDC), Augustus Nana Kwasi Andrew, says his party remains vigilant and will ensure the materials are safe.
“We are not leaving any stone unturned. We were here in the morning to see how the process was going. All our agents, party executives and election directors are here to assist the EC take the ballots to the various districts.
“We are still monitoring how it will end but I can assure the good people of Ashanti that we have put security on standby at the various districts where the ballots are going as we did here. We have policed it for the past weeks,” he said.
Meanwhile, ballot papers have safely arrived in Tamale, in the Northern Region where sorting was done.
The district EC officials, accompanied by security escorts transported the ballots to all 18 districts for safekeeping at police facilities, after sorting.
The northern regional ballot papers arrived on Thursday, November 28, 2024, marking a significant milestone in preparations for the upcoming elections. Sorting went on to ensure that ballots were accurately distributed to their designated districts.
At the Northern Regional Police Headquarters, the sorting process was conducted under tight security.
Representatives of various political parties were present to monitor the process, ensuring transparency. District EC officials worked diligently to complete the task.
Speaking to Channel One News, the Deputy Northern Regional Director of the EC, Bismark Nteh, assured that all ballot papers would remain securely stored in the police armoury until election day.
Mr Nteh also provided updates on preparations for the special voting exercise slated for December 2.
He confirmed that all necessary election kits are already in the region, except the pink sheets, which are expected to arrive shortly.
“We have almost received everything for the election in the region here. Thursday, we got here around 6:30 pm and because it was somehow in the night or late, we couldn’t open the van for us to check the ballot.
“So it’s this morning [Friday] that all the parties came together, we opened the ballots and as of now what they’re doing is they’re checking the ballots for quantities printed, pictures and serial numbers to ensure that everything is correct before they take them to their various constituencies on Friday.”
“BVDs came here almost a week ago and everything is now set, we’re almost set for the elections and we’re ready for the election. Pink sheets are on the way coming and that is the only thing left and hopefully, by tomorrow we will get it.”
Representatives of political parties shared their thoughts on the process with Channel One News.
They commended the EC for its transparency and thorough approach, expressing satisfaction with the measures taken to ensure a credible election.
Dr Arnold Mashud Abukari- Northern Regional Election and IT Director for NDC, said, “Yes, Thursday we received the ballot materials so we’re here in our numbers to ensure that the data and details that we have actually conform with what came. We are so much satisfied with what has transpired so far.”
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By: Hafiz Tijani and Shawarna Yussif
