EC officials cautioned against electoral malpractices

Apam (C/R), Dec. 22, GNA - The Gomoa District Electoral Officer, Mr Stephen Bertino has advised electoral officials not to indulge in electoral malpractices.

He said the Electoral Commission (EC) had spent time and resources to train them to assist the Commission in the conduct of the polls. He said they were expected to know what do at the polling stations and the collation centres.

"Therefore, if anyone of them chooses to pursue his or her own personal agenda and is caught, the person would have no sympathy from the Commission," Mr Bertino stressed at a meeting with the officials at Apam.

He said the EC had a reputation to protect and cautioned those with ulterior motives to surrender their appointment cards before it was too late, since "a few bad nuts would not be allowed to tarnish the hard-won image of the Commission.

"Credibility of the poll depends largely on us so we must conduct ourselves in a manner, which would make the results acceptable to the candidates, Ghanaians and the outside world," he stated. In a related development, Mr Eric Abakah Hagan, Mfantseman Municipal Electoral Officer has appealed to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to appoint knowledgeable and reliable polling station agents, during the presidential runoff poll. Speaking to the Ghana News Agency at Saltpond, Mr Hagan advised the agents to be vigilant by having a clear view of whatever went on at the polling stations and at the collation centres. He said the EC would not accept any blame due to the negligence on the part of party agents.

Mr Hagan commended Ghanaians for going through a peaceful election on December 7 2008 and appealed to them to exhibit the same maturity during the presidential election runoff.