Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) John Dramani Mahama, will strongly resist any attempt to manipulate the upcoming elections through ballot printing irregularities.
The NDC flagbearer, accuses the Electoral Commission (EC) of printing extra ballots during the 2020 election, alleging that the surplus ballot papers, were distributed to agents of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP).
The EC, has begun printing ballot papers for the upcoming polls and has vehemently denied producing more ballots than required. But Mr Mahama, insists the electoral management body’s processes cannot be trusted.
Dr Edward Omane Boamah, the NDC’s Director of Elections and IT, also raised serious concerns over the EC’s “ill-preparation” for the upcoming elections on December 7.
He pointed to numerous issues affecting contracted ballot printing companies, including delays, contract cancellations, and quality control issues across multiple printing companies, including YASARKO Printing, Checkpoint Printing, FONSTAT Printing and the state-owned Ghana Publishing, calling into question the EC’s readiness for a smooth election process.
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The EC, has named eight printing houses for the 2024 election ballot papers. The list, includes Buck Press, Sea Print Limited, Acts Commercials, Ghana Publishing Company Limited, Innolink Limited, Fonstat Limited, Check Point Limited, and Yasarko Company Limited.
The Commission, has since replaced Yasarko Press with two other printing firms, following faulty equipment during the printing of ballot papers for Election 2024.
At a campaign rally in Sagnarigu in the Northern Region, Mr Mahama, questioned the neutrality of key electoral stakeholders and urged party agents and election observers to be on high alert.
“This election, we are going to make sure that it is transparent and fair. In the past, we have always trusted that everybody who is a stakeholder in the election will behave in a neutral and non-partisan manner. But it doesn’t always work. In 2020, when we went to supervise the printing of the ballot papers after we had finished, we packed them, signed them, and our agents left the printing press. After, they started printing ballots, and some of these papers found their way into the hands of the NPP.
“On election day, we caught NPP agents with ballot papers in their hands. We reported them to the police, but nothing happened. So, for these elections, we are not taking any chances. Just yesterday, one of our election supervisors went to one of the printing houses, and an NPP person came there and wanted to assault him.
“We know that when they finish printing the rest of the papers, instead of shredding them in front of the agents, they keep them and hand them over to the NPP. Nobody is going to get hold of any extra ballot paper to go and dump them in the ballot boxes. This time, we are all going to be very vigilant,” he declared.
This comes as Franklin Cudjoe, President of IMANI Africa, has expressed serious concerns about the alarming decline in public trust in Ghanaian institutions, particularly the EC and the Judiciary. This concern is backed by the latest Afrobarometer report from the Center for Democratic Development, which reveals a historic drop in public trust in Ghanaian institutions.
The report, launched on October 25 by CDD Ghana’s Director of Research, Dr Edem Selormey, highlights citizens’ deep concerns over the integrity of state entities, including the EC’s ability to conduct free, fair, and transparent elections.
Notably, citizens’ confidence in several democratic institutions has dropped steeply since 2012, persisting despite changes in government.
In an interview with Selorm Adonoo on Channel One TV‘s “The Big Issue,” Cudjoe described the situation as depressing on Saturday.
“It’s depressing to see 65% of Ghanaians say they don’t trust the courts, that’s depressing for the Judiciary. It is depressing to see that only 28% [17% dropped to 11%] of Ghanaians trust the Electoral Commission, that’s depressing, and that is not quite right.
He is calling on Ghanaians to rethink their perceptions of these institutions as the nation moves forward.
“I think that we need to change attitudes and mindsets, as we go along. The branding is good but the product is terrible. And I think that we need to ensure that we’re dealing in policy issues, issues that matter.”
Among key public institutions, the Ghana Armed Forces, religious leaders, traditional leaders, and non-governmental and civil society organisations are the most trusted, according to the Afrobarometer report.
It added that trust in key state institutions/officials witnessed marginal declines compared to 2022 but major declines since 2012. The report said the police, the Presidency, tax officials, MPs, judges and magistrates are most widely perceived as corrupt
In a Facebook post dated Saturday, November 2, Dr. Omane Boamah highlighted numerous issues plaguing the ballot printing process and questioned the EC’s capacity to manage critical election logistics without errors.
Dr Boamah, singled out Innolink Printing Company, calling on the organization to recall its involvement in the 2020 elections when excess ballot papers were reportedly discovered within its printing facilities. This, he said, remains a troubling reminder of the potential for printing mishaps and raises concerns for the current election cycle.
According to Dr Boamah, other ballot printing companies contracted by the EC have encountered significant challenges, affecting the election timeline and raising doubts about the overall process.
Key points raised include: YASARKO’s Contract Cancellation: YASARKO Printing struggled to fulfil its ballot printing contract, leading the EC to cancel its agreement following alerts raised by the NDC.
Checkpoint Printing’s Struggles: Checkpoint Printing Company has reportedly failed to complete its assigned lots, including ballots for the Central Region, delaying their delivery.
FONSTAT’s Serial Number Issues: FONSTAT Printing Company is reported to have mishandled serial numbers on ballots for one of the regions, causing additional complications in the process.
Ghana Publishing’s Equipment Failure: Ghana Publishing Company’s machinery broke down during a night shift on Sunday, October 27, further disrupting the printing process.
These incidents, Dr Boamah argues, call into question the EC’s readiness for the December polls.
“Is the Electoral Commission really prepared for this election?
What can the Commission do right without hitches?” he asked in his statement, suggesting that the recent setbacks indicate a troubling pattern of inefficiency.
He said the NDC has reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring transparency through its #EAGLEEYES project, vowing to monitor the electoral process until its candidate, Mr Mahama, wins.
Dr Omane Boamah, also revealed how one Richard Jakpa, a ballot printing supervisor for the NDC), was physically assaulted by an alleged supporter of the NPP, while performing his lawful duties at Innolink.
The assault of the former military officer has been officially reported to the Kaneshie Police Station, where authorities are currently awaiting a statement from the NPP suspect involved in the attack.
The NDC through its Director of Elections and IT, said the party is expecting Innolink to provide CCTV footage of the incident to aid in the investigation.
The NDC called for the Ghana Police Service to take swift action and ensure that the individual responsible for this assault is brought to justice.
According to the NDC, this incident raises serious concerns about the safety of individuals carrying out their civic responsibilities in the lead-up to the upcoming elections.
But in a major step towards promoting transparency in the electoral process, the EC, opened up the process of printing ballot papers for the December 7 polls to the media.
Currently, six companies are printing for the EC. The media team, led by the Deputy Commissioner in charge of Corporate Services, Dr Eric Bossman Asare, took the media to three of them: Buck Press, Innolink, and Acts Commercials Ltd.
At each of the locations, agents of political parties, representatives of independent candidates, the police and national security operatives, were there to observe the process.
The Director of Electoral Services at the EC, Benjamin Bannor-Bio, explained that the visits formed part of efforts to deepen transparency in the electoral process. He said the EC decided to open up the printing of ballot papers so that it would boost the confidence of members of the public.
“We want to assure the world that the EC has nothing to hide and so we want members of the public to have confidence in the commission,” Mr Bannor-Bio said.
At the Buck Press, where parliamentary ballot papers for the Ashanti, Central, Savannah, and Oti regions were being printed, the Daily Graphic observed that the staff at the various units were working briskly to deliver on their tasks.
There was a robust security regime at every stage of the production process, with political party agents monitoring it with eagle eyes.
The Executive Director of Buck Press, Dr Francis Nyanin, said the process was going on without hindrance. At Innolink, where ballot papers for the Greater Accra and North East regions were being printed, it was also observed that security personnel and political party agents, who included those of the NDC, the NPP, the Ghana Freedom Party (GFP), the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG) as well as those of independent candidates were there monitoring the process.
With the printing of the presidential ballot papers halted following the death of GFP’s presidential candidate, Akua Donkor, the printing entity was now focused on delivering the parliamentary ballots.
The General Manager of Innolink, Kingsley Addo Ntow, said production of the ballot papers was going according to schedule.
The situation at Acts Commercials Ltd printing house was not any different, as printing of parliamentary ballot papers was ongoing for the Upper East, Upper West and Western North regions. Here again, the political party agents were recording the printed ballots to ensure transparency.
Dr Bossman Asare, said the EC was satisfied with the level of participation and cooperation from the political parties and security agencies, adding the commission was optimistic that with the level of transparency and the vigilance party agents and other stakeholders were exhibiting at the printing houses, every printed ballot paper would be accounted for in the conduct of the polls.
“Printing is done with the full participation of political parties, and we are happy that the party agents are working together with all other stakeholders for quality assurance and transparency. When we finish printing and start bagging the ballots, all parties put their seals on it and also ensure that their padlocks are intact on warehouses, and this demonstrates the transparency of the process,” he said.
Touching on the status of the presidential ballot papers, he said the EC would give a clear roadmap on how the printing would be done by this week. 13 aspirants were on the ballot paper until the death of the GFP presidential candidate, Akua Donkor,
