The Deputy Director of Elections and IT for the NDC Dr. Rashid Tanko- Computer has expressed concerns about the Electoral Commission’s (EC) handling of ballot paper shortfalls ahead of the December 7 elections.
He indicated that the serious challenges caused by the Electoral Commission. According to him, the way and manner they are handling the issues are not in line with the processes agreed upon which tenets the ballots were to be printed. He charged; ‘‘Now afterward, we started experiencing these challenges upon challenges, it doesn’t augur well for the credibility of the Electoral Commission.”
Dr. Tanko pointed to issues such as statistical errors which have resulted in ballot shortages in key constituencies. He reiterated; ”The shortfall is the creation of the electoral Commission because their ballot statistics were not correct.’’ He continued;
”The print house is going to print 640. And our agents dearly were holding unto the same statistics as sent. So, they also monitored and did their job fantastically. And made sure that the 640 were bagged. But unfortunately, the real statistics were supposed to be 642. So, when they arrived and re-checked [they] realized that there would be two short of ballot booklets.
That is why you’ve seen these shortages coming out. And I think if they had put the statistics attached to the letter, they had written you would have seen it. It is the problem from the electoral commission, the way they generated their statistics was not in conformity with the numbers as generated from the summaries that I was requesting during their last IPAC meeting.’’
Dr. Rashid Tanko- Computer Deputy Director of Elections and IT for the NDC
Serialization Issues and Volta Region Shortfalls
Dr. Tanko also addressed serialization errors and ballot shortages in constituencies like Keta. He explained;
“For instance, in Keta with the 100 booklets, they were expecting to print 462 booklets, but the Electoral Commission sent 460 to the print house. This naturally resulted in a shortfall of two.”
Dr. Rashid Tanko- Computer Deputy Director of Elections and IT for the NDC
He added that these issues were not due to mistakes by the printing houses or party agents.
Meanwhile, this is coming at a time when we have just eight days to the December 7 polls. Confidence in the Electoral Commission could be affected.
He further stressed the importance of maintaining the integrity of the election process. He asserted; “We want to win fairly. We don’t want any problems with our win. That is why we are doing all this.’’
Despite the challenges, Dr. Tanko scolded the EC while commending the vigilance of the NDC’s regional officers. He highlighted;
“The electoral Commission needs to sit up. And I would give thumbs up to our officers at the region and our supervisors as well for the eagle eyes that we are putting on this.’’
Dr. Rashid Tanko- Computer Deputy Director of Elections and IT for the NDC
He noted that the NDC has instructed its agents to oversee the printing and delivery of the corrected ballots to affected constituencies. He added that they are following through every process the EC is undertaking and they have asked their agents to ensure the needful is done.
Concluding his remarks, Dr. Tanko reiterated the party’s commitment to ensuring a transparent and fair electoral process.
Dr. Tanko’s observations and proactive measures underscore the need for heightened scrutiny to safeguard the credibility of Ghana’s electoral process.
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