2024 Elections: EC confirms arrest of official who issued ballot papers without full photo of Bawumia

The Electoral Commission has confirmed the arrest of an EC official from the Bono East Regional Directorate for allegedly engaging in an electoral offense.

The official, Joseph Derry, allegedly issued about 15 ballot papers to voters with the image of the first presidential candidate, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, torn off.

The EC acknowledged the incident in a statement signed by Samuel Tettey, Deputy Chairman of Operations while sharing images of the torn ballot papers.

"The Electoral Commission has received a report from its Bono East Regional Directorate confirming that a Ballot Issuer at the Temporary Booth Bayiri Polling Station in the Techiman South District tore off the head of the Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party while issuing 15 ballot papers to voters.

"The Ballot Issuer, Mr. Joseph Derry, has since been arrested by the Police. The Commission will cooperate fully with the Police to get to the bottom of the matter."

The EC also issued a stern warning to its officials against breaching electoral processes, emphasizing that offenders would face prosecution.

"The Commission warns all Election Officials who violate our processes and electoral laws will be prosecuted. The Commission further warns that it will not shield any Election Officials who misconduct themselves during the Elections.

"We urge the public to remain calm and report any incident to the Police or call the Commission on its Toll-Free Number 0800 324 324."

The 2024 general elections are ongoing across 276 constituencies in the country, with 18.8 million voters expected to participate.

This election features 13 presidential candidates, nine of whom represent political parties, while four are independent candidates.

According to data published by CODEO, the largest civil society organization monitoring elections, the 2024 elections will also see 801 parliamentary candidates contesting 276 seats.

In the parliamentary elections, 111 candidates are running as independents.

Incident with Ballot Issuer at Temporary Booth Bayiri Polling Station pic.twitter.com/kbHvd2DBVS

— Electoral Commission Of Ghana (@ECGhanaOfficial) December 7, 2024