The Electoral Commission (EC) will conduct the Special Voting exercise today, Monday, December 2, across 14 regions of Ghana, excluding the Eastern and Western Regions.
This important process allows election officials, security personnel, and media workers, who will be on duty during the December 7 elections, to cast their votes in advance. Around 131,478 voters, or 0.007% of the total registered electorate of 18,741,159, are expected to take part.
The Eastern and Western Regions have been excluded from today’s exercise due to a reported breach of security seals on the ballot papers. As a result, the Special Voting in these regions has been rescheduled for Thursday, December 5, to preserve the integrity of the electoral process.
Jean Mensa, Chairperson of the EC, assured the public that the voting process in the 14 regions would be smooth and transparent. She reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to addressing any concerns to uphold the credibility of the elections.
The EC has reminded all eligible voters in the Special Voting to follow the established guidelines, including presenting valid identification to polling officials. The exercise will run from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. at designated polling stations in the 14 regions.
Votes cast during the Special Voting will not be counted on the same day. Instead, they will be tallied on December 7 at the Constituency Collation Centres and added to the final results of the main election.
The Returning Officer at each Constituency Collation Centre will record these results separately on both the Presidential and Parliamentary Election Results Collation Forms before combining them with the final counts from all polling stations.
Security measures have been strengthened to ensure a peaceful process, with the National Election Security Taskforce overseeing operations at polling stations. Political parties have also deployed agents to monitor the exercise, and observers from various organizations will be present to ensure transparency.
The EC has called for cooperation and calm from all stakeholders, emphasizing that these actions are part of efforts to conduct a free, fair, and credible election.
