The Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana has proposed to end voting at 3.00pm in the 2024 general elections so as to ensure early counting of votes and declaration of results at the polling station, and also to avoid the inconveniences associated with the late close of polls.
Since 1992, polls have usually ended at 5.00pm. But Mrs Jean Mensa, the EC Chairperson explained that the commission is seeking an amendment in the voting period based on experiences in the 2020 elections.
At an inter-party dialogue and stock-taking conference organized by the National Peace Council in Accra on Thursday, December 14, 2023, Jean Mensa noted that ‘In 2020, 70 percent of our polling centres had a voter threshold of 500 and below. This time we intend to ensure that all our polling station centers have a threshold of 500 voters and below. In the same vein, we will increase the number of our polling stations nationwide.
‘We believe that this will go a long way to reduce the long queues that characterize our elections and allow for a smooth, seamless, hustle-free voting process. In 2020, it took voters not more than five minutes to cast their votes due to the introduction of this policy.
‘Based on our 2020 experience and also feedback from several observer groups we propose to close the polls at 3:00pm.
‘Our experience in 2020 reveals that by 1.00pm, 70 percent of our polling stations were empty of voters as most voters had cast their votes. This made it possible because the threshold of most polling centers was reduced to 500 voters per voting center.
‘This was coupled with the robust verification devices that were deployed to the polling stations. We are convinced that by closing the polls at 3:00pm, we will be able to count and collate in broad daylight and this will promote the needed transparency and orderliness that we so desire’. SOURCE: Kasatintin.com
