Accra: The Electoral Commission (EC) has firmly dismissed allegations of violating procurement procedures during the reprinting of ballot papers for the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections. The Commission's response comes in light of reports alleging a breach following the leakage of ballot papers in the Western and Eastern regions.
According to Ghana News Agency, the EC confirmed that it adhered to all necessary protocols and obtained approval from the Central Tender Review Committee (CTRC) before contracting three printing houses to undertake the reprinting task. Dr. Bossman Asare, the Deputy Chairperson of the EC for Corporate Services, addressed the issue in Parliament, refuting claims of procurement irregularities.
Dr. Asare, representing EC Chairperson Jean Adukwei Mensa, detailed that upon receiving notification from National Security operatives about a ballot paper leak on November 29, 2024, the EC immediately engaged political parties in an Inter Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting on December 1, 2024. During this meeting, Inolink, Buck Press, and Arts Consult Limited were identified as the printing houses capable of executing the reprint within the constrained timeline.
Subsequently, the EC sought and received CTRC approval on December 2 to proceed with the reprint, as the elections were set for December 7, 2024. This situation necessitated the rescheduling of special voting in the affected regions while it proceeded as planned in the remaining 14 regions.
Dr. Asare emphasized that the EC employed a competitive tendering process to select the printing houses, thereby adhering to procurement laws. Additionally, he refuted allegations of negligence, asserting that the police and political party representatives were actively involved in ballot paper distribution.
Regarding the financial implications, Dr. Asare disclosed that the reprinting of presidential ballot papers incurred a cost of GHS 3,621,281, while the parliamentary ballot reprint amounted to GHS 2,442,329.
