The Electoral Commission (EC) has announced that the certified voters register for the December 2024 elections will be ready by the first week of November. This was revealed by the EC Chairperson, Jean Adukwei Mensa, during an Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting in Accra.
Political parties will have access to the certified register by the beginning of next month, ensuring adequate time for any last-minute checks before the elections.
Mensa also informed attendees that the printing of ballot papers would commence tomorrow.
The total number of ballots printed will be based on the revised provisional voters register (PVR), which has been updated following a nationwide exhibition. The final number of registered voters is expected to be around 18,772,251, with an additional 2% added to accommodate potential shortfalls.
The EC Chair assured the political parties that the commission’s ballot printing methodology, which includes this margin, would ensure sufficient ballot papers for the election. “In 2020, the voter turnout was 79%, not 100%. We are confident that this methodology will provide us with an adequate supply of ballot papers,” Mensa said.
Read Also: NCA rolls out ECOWAS ”Free Roaming Initiative” to cut telecom costs for travelers
The IPAC meeting also provided a platform for the EC to update political parties on the ongoing efforts to clean the electoral register.
This initiative follows an earlier pledge by the commission to address discrepancies identified during the nationwide exhibition of the voters roll.
Political parties have already received both soft and hard copies of the revised PVR to review and report any discrepancies before the final register is certified.
An online voter exhibition exercise is also underway, allowing voters to verify their details on the EC’s website free of charge. This process will be available until October 19, after which no further complaints regarding discrepancies will be accepted. Mensa highlighted that this re-exhibition of the PVR is an unprecedented move by the commission, aimed at ensuring a “near perfect” final voters register for the elections.
The EC Chair emphasized that the commission is not abandoning the manual verification process but is providing the online system as an additional option for voters to confirm their details.
Despite some political parties raising concerns over ongoing court cases related to the disqualification of certain presidential aspirants, Mensa asserted that the EC would not halt its preparations for the elections. “The nation cannot be tied down by court cases; we must continue our preparations,” she stated.
Political parties were also urged to participate in customer surveys and feedback systems to monitor the success of these preparatory measures as the country heads towards the December polls.
