The Electoral Commission (EC) has identified shortages of presidential and parliamentary ballot papers in five constituencies in the Volta Region. This was announced in a statement dated Thursday, 28th November, and signed by the Deputy Chairman in charge of Operations, Samuel Tettey.
The affected areas are listed as Keta, Ketu North, Ho Central, Hohoe, and Ho West constituencies, all in the Volta Region.
The EC’s statement noted that the shortfalls would be printed by Acts Commercial. The statement said:
Political Parties and Independent Presidential Candidates are to provide two (2) representatives each to observe the printing process on Friday, 29th November 2024, at 10:00 am at the premises of Acts Commercials Printing House, Accra.
These shortages come exactly a week after the commission burnt ballot papers meant for the Volta and Ahafo regions due to serialisation errors.
Meanwhile, reacting to the EC’s statement, the Director of Elections and IT of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr Edward Omane Boamah, questioned the commission’s repeated errors in the party’s stronghold.
In a statement shared on his Facebook page, Dr Boamah demanded an explanation:
Following the release of the letter titled, 'SHORTFALL ON BALLOT PAPERS' by the Electoral Commission of Ghana, we have engaged our dedicated #EAGLEEYES team that observed the printing and bagging process at Acts Commercial printing house. The brief from our team makes it abundantly clear that the Electoral Commission of Ghana has committed another avoidable error. Our agents make it clear to us that the ballot statistics submitted to Acts Commercial (printing house) were complied with.
This being the case, we call on the Electoral Commission not to sweep the cause of this avoidable error under the carpet. That the Volta Region, our stronghold, is experiencing such avoidable errors in series is not lost on us. The Electoral Commission must explain to Ghanaians how the shortfall occurred.
He emphasised that he would raise these concerns during an Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting with the commission today.