Accra, Dec. 7, GNA – Security officers who could not exercise their franchise during the Special Voting would be deployed close to the polling stations where they registered, so that they can vote, Mrs Charlotte Kesson-Smith Osei, the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission has said.
She said they would have priority in the voting queues.
“Over the last few days, there were complaints from security personnel about their inability to locate their names on the special voting lists.”
“It is important to clarify that special voting is for staff of the Electoral Commission (EC), security agencies or journalists who are to be deployed outside their usual places of residence on election day. Special voting is not for all officers of the security agencies, or electoral officers or journalists,” Mrs Osei stated on Tuesday in Accra during the Commission’s press briefing prior to the December 7 general election.
“Accordingly the EC works with the list provided by the institutions. As we have stated repeatedly, the challenges were occasioned by a number of factors,” she said.
She said persons who did not transfer their votes when the transfer window opened earlier, wanted to use the Special Voting as an opportunity to transfer their votes into a constituency other than where they were registered to vote.
Mrs Osei said some security agencies did not submit any list at all, and some of those who submitted provided incomplete data on their officers.
“So it was difficult to assign them to their polling stations. Not all officers were going to be deployed for polling station duties on election day and so were not intended for special voting, but a lot of people turned up to vote when their names were not included in the special voters list,” she stated.
She noted that Special Voting was not for all.
“As a listening Commission and in consultation with the political parties and hierarchy of the security agencies, we set aside a second day for the continuation of the special voting exercise for officials whose names were not on the special voting list.
“As a Commission, it is our job to run elections and to get people to vote. We are not interested in denying anyone his or her right to vote,” she said.
She said the challenges encountered by some of the officers could have been avoided.
Mrs Osei said however, the reasons for those challenges were not within the control of the Commission.
“So it was not a deliberate effort on our part to prevent anyone from voting. We are happy to announce that there was an 80 per cent turnout in the Special Voting on December 1 and December 4.”
“This is consistent with the turn out numbers we are expecting in this year’s election,” the Chairperson added.
GNA