EC beats retreat over ban on political party agents at voter transfer centres

The Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana has backtracked on its earlier directive that barred political party agents from observing the voter transfer process.

The initial memo, issued to district officers on June 2, prohibited party agent access to transfer centres, citing violent incidents as the reason for the ban.

The move was met with immediate backlash from political parties and civil society groups, who criticized the ban as a violation of democratic principles and a potential cause for vote transfer discrepancies.

John Dramani Mahama, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer, voiced his concerns via a Facebook post, suggesting that the EC's directive was indicative of collusion with the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) to manipulate the forthcoming December 7 general elections.

However, in a turn of events, the EC, in a press release issued on June 4, rescinded the controversial decision.

Samuel Tettey, the Deputy Commissioner in charge of Operations at the Electoral Commission, stated that the reversal came after thorough discussions and consideration of the various concerns raised.

“Following internal discussions and in consideration of the concerns of some stakeholders, the Commission has decided to revert to its decision made at IPAC.

"The Commission has directed its Officers at the Districts to allow Agents of Political Parties to observe the Transfer of Votes Exercise with effect from tomorrow Wednesday, 5th June, 2024," portions of the release said.

GA/SARA

Meanwhile, catch up on the latest edition of The Lowdown on GhanaWeb TV as Etsey Atisu sat down with the MP for Mpraeso, Davis Ansah Opoku, to discuss issues surrounding the E-Levy, the Saglemi Housing Controversy, and the OSP Impeachment:





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