The Electoral Commission (EC) is not just ready but “fully ready” for the December 7 elections, according to Dr Bossman Asare, the Deputy Chairman in charge of Corporate Services.
Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on November 19, Dr. Asare assured Ghanaians of the Commission’s preparedness, revealing that several critical milestones have been achieved well ahead of schedule.
“I wouldn’t only say we are ready, we are fully ready with 18 days to go,” Dr Asare declared.
“Because, as we speak now, there are a number of things that must be done, and we are pretty much ahead of schedule.
“So, we are fully persuaded that come December 2 for the special voting and December 7 for the main elections – in terms of presidential and parliamentary – we are fully ready.
“And I believe that the good people of this country are also very, very much ready for the election.”
He outlined key indicators of readiness, particularly regarding the printing and distribution of ballot papers.
“As we speak now, a chunk of them, almost over 50%, have gotten to the regional capitals under Regional Police care,” he said.
“Apart from that, the training of officials, which is very critical, has also started. We’ve done the national level. We are about to take off at the regional level, and after that, we’ll move on to the constituency level.”
Dr. Asare stated that the Commission’s detailed planning and swift execution had put them in a position where the elections could be held even earlier if necessary.
“If the elections were to be held next week, we would still be able to do it,” he stated confidently.
The EC, however, faced minor challenges in two regions – Ahafo and Volta – due to issues with ballot serial numbers.
Dr. Asare explained that these were being addressed.
“We announced last week that because of certain issues we identified with the serial numbers, we are going to have them printed again at another printing house.
“But we have strong evidence that this week, they should be able to finish for us to transport them to the various regions,” he said.
On the distribution of ballots, Dr. Asare detailed the progress made, revealing that nearly 90% of the work is already done.
“Almost about 80% of both the parliamentary and presidential ballot papers are in the regions. Unfortunately, when the flagbearer of the Ghana Freedom Party (Akua Donkor) passed on to glory, we had printed over 90% of the presidential ballots. So as soon as that embargo was lifted, many of them were able to finish in that same week,” he noted.
Dr Asare reiterated the Commission’s commitment to ensuring a seamless election process.
“We have a clear plan in place, and based on that, I can conveniently say that we are fully ready,” he said.
“The good people of Ghana can rest assured that the Electoral Commission is working around the clock to make December 7 a success.”
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