By Jeremiah Nutsugah
Dr. Tanko Computer, Deputy Director of Elections and IT at the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has emphasized that the Electoral Commission of Ghana cannot print ballot papers without knowing the number of people they are printing for.
Speaking in Accra, Dr. Computer explained that ballot statistics are derived from the voters’ code book, which indicates the number of voters in each polling station.
To account for spoiled ballots, the Electoral Commission adds 5% to each polling station’s voter register.
“Based on that, they are going to add an additional 5% to each of the polling station figures, because of spoiling. You know, during voting, some people spoil their ballots. So this 5% addition to the polling station voter register will make room for those spoilings”.
However, Dr. Computer pointed out that without a register, it’s impossible to determine the basis for printing ballot papers.
The NDC has demanded detailed statistics on ballot paper printing from the Electoral Commission before the process begins.
This comes after the Electoral Commission (EC) invited the NDC’s agents to be present at their office on October 10 for the ballot paper printing.
Dr. Computer expressed concerns over the Electoral Commission’s history of printing excess ballots, citing the 2020 incident where over 1 million additional ballots were printed.
He stressed that without a register, statistics, or voter code books, the NDC will not accept the printed ballots.
“Today, we are not accepting it. Tomorrow, we will indicate it to them. Tomorrow, we will have a meeting with them, and we will strongly tell them in their face”.
“You cannot print ballots without having a register. Without a register, what are you printing the ballots for? And where do you get the numbers to print the register that you intend to win? It is in the ballot papers”.
