Presidential candidate of the Liberal Party of Ghana, Kofi Akpaloo
The presidential candidate of the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG), Kofi Akpaloo, has urged the Electoral Commission to reprint new ballot papers without Akua Donkor’s image ahead of the December polls.
Kofi Akpaloo, while addressing the press on Wednesday, November 13, 2024, raised concerns about the ballot papers bearing the image and name of the late Akua Donkor of the Ghana Freedom Party despite the disqualification of their candidate.
According to him, leaving Akua Donkor’s image on the ballot could lead to serious consequences and cause confusion in the country.
“Akua Donkor’s picture on it [ballot paper] is going to create a whole lot of confusion in the country. People are going to vote for Akua Donkor, who is deceased, and so how are they going to do the counting at the end of the day?
“With the presidential ballots, we do the calculation based on percentages garnered by candidates. So are we going to say that those who vote for Akua Donkor will have their votes taken out or will still be counted?
“We don’t want confusion at the end of the day. We don’t want a situation whereby a losing candidate will refuse to accept the results because of the percentages. We are asking the EC to reprint new ballot papers without Akua Donkor’s picture,” he stated.
Akpaloo further argued that the EC would have reprinted new ballot papers if the GFP’s new candidate, Philip Appiah Kubi, had been cleared to contest.
“If the new nominated candidate had qualified, we would definitely have printed new ballot papers and not have complained about it costing us money, and so now that the party has been disqualified, they need to be taken off from the ballot.”
He added, “That is what we are asking the EC to do. Let’s forget about the money involved and do the right thing that will create a peaceful atmosphere in the country.”
Akpaloo’s comments come on the back of the EC’s statement that there will be no change to the ballot paper positions for the 2024 presidential election.
At a press conference on Tuesday, November 12, 2024, the EC’s chairperson, Jean Mensa, clarified that the GFP’s position on the ballot would simply be omitted, leaving the other positions intact.
Madam Jean Mensa explained that the decision was made due to the limited time left for the December 7, 2024, election and to avoid incurring additional costs.
“This morning, we are here to inform you of the commission’s decision to maintain the presidential ballot as it is,” she said.
“We are almost 90% complete with the printing of presidential ballots. Given the nominee’s disqualification, the commission will proceed with the current ballot to save time and prevent additional costs.”
MAG/ ADG
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