Election 2020: Rejected ballots emerge ‘third force’

Ghana’s elections have always seen a duopoly of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Most of the discussions that dominated the media was a possible emergence of a third force that the electorate can easily vote for when they fall out with the NPP and NDC.

Reverend Christian Kwabena Andrews, popularly known as Osofo Kyiri Abosom, the flagbearer of the Ghana Union Movement (GUM), who contested for the first time came in third place after the NPP and the NDC.

He polled 105,548 votes, representing 0.805 per cent of the total votes cast.

His tally was greater than the remaining nine candidates.

Pre-election predictions had placed GUM as the third strongest party, but comparing the election statistics, Osofo Kyiri Abosom’s party did not actually emerge the third strongest party.

The rejected ballots rather fit into the position of being declared the ‘third force’ in Ghana’s multi-party elections.

These were ballots whose numbers continue to astound, despite measures put in place by the electoral body to address the problem.

After the 2020 elections, the EC stated that 313,397 presidential election ballots were rejected representing a total of 2.333 per cent of total votes cast.

This tally is, therefore, greater than the results of the nine other contestants combined. Together, the nine other candidates polled 175,691 votes, representing 1.339 per cent.

Find below the statistics:

1992 – 149,813 (3.6%)

1996 – 111,108 (1.53%)

2000 – 119,362 (1.8%)

2000 (run-off) – 104,214 (1.58%)

2004 – 188,123 – (2.13%)

2008 – 205,438 (2.4%)

2008 (run-off) – 92,886 (1.02%)

2012 – 251,720 – (2.24%)

2016 – 167,349 – (1.54%)

2020 – 313,397 – (2.333%)