NDC, PNC call for probe into ballot paper ‘leakage’ incident

The main opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has called for further investigation into how a single defaced ballot paper, intended for the Eastern Region, was taken out of one of the printing houses contracted by the Electoral Commission.

The Electoral Commission has ordered a recall and reprinting of ballot papers for the Eastern and Western Regions after a leakage was detected with the initial ballot papers.

The Commission’s Chairperson, Jean Mensa announced this at an emergency news conference on Sunday, December 1.

As a result, the Commission has recalled the ballot papers for the Eastern and Western Region and has suspended and postponed the special voting in those two regions to Thursday, December 5.

According to the Commission, this has become necessary after it was informed by National Security that a single defaced paper was taken out of Checkpoint Printing Limited Printing House.

The defaced paper was earmarked for destruction but unfortunately found its way out of the firm which has been working with the Commission since 1992.

Although all political parties agreed with the EC’s decision to recall and reprint the ballot papers, two parties, the NDC and PNC want the matter thoroughly investigated and the culprits dealt with.

The NDC’s Director of Elections, Dr Omane Boamah, is urging various security agencies, including the National Investigation Bureau (NIB), to investigate the incident.

Speaking to Joy News moments after the EC addressed the incident, Dr Boamah said the situation tarnishes the credibility of the general election.

He said that, although the EC has decided to reprint the affected ballot papers, this action “will never erase the entire risk.” He also questioned the EC about the arrest of those responsible for breaking the seals on the ballot papers, stating, “In this case, we were not told whether the National Security or the Police arrested an individual or group of people and whether they are in custody.”

Dr Boamah therefore urged the country’s security agencies, who are responsible for protecting the ballot papers, to “immediately announce if they have arrested any culprits, and if so, who they are.”

“We are saying that the National Security, National Investigation Bureau, the Police, and the CID must let the public know who is involved,” he emphasized.

Also, the National Chairman of the PNC, Samson Awingobit, is calling for an investigation into the matter. According to him, destroying the papers alone is not enough, and a probe should be launched to identify the culprits for them to be punished accordingly.

He added that the EC must conduct a transparent election to protect its image and build confidence among Ghanaians.

The credibility of this year’s election is being questioned, as the EC has identified three problems with the ballot papers: a shortfall of ballot papers, errors in serialisation, and the breaking of seals on some of the papers.