EC slams false claims over ballot papers

The Electoral Commission has decried claims by some activists that the ballot papers dispatched to the Upper West Region were intercepted in another political party’s office.

It follows claims that ballot papers for the December vote were intercepted at the office of one of the political parties in the Upper West Region.

According to the EC, the printed ballots for the Upper West Region arrived at the Regional Police Headquarters in Wa Saturday morning.

The representatives of the political parties in the region were invited to witness the delivery process and confirm their seals on the bag, the statement said.

The EC further assured that the printing process of the ballot was closely monitored by representatives of the political parties on a 24-hour shift basis.

The commission explained that "record was taken of every single ballot printed and at the end of the day, the printing house was closed in the presence of all political party representatives."

"Every morning, the printing house was not opened unless the representatives of the political parties were present and printing did not start until all the representatives of the political parties were present," it said.

The commission further described that claims that the ballot papers were intercepted in the office of a certain political party as "untrue," calling on all political parties to stop this irresponsible behaviour deliberately calculated to cause public disaffection towards the EC.