Special Voting Exercise Takes Off Monday.

ACCRA: The Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana will conduct a Special Voting exercise on Monday, December 2, 2024, across 328 centres nationwide. The exercise, held ahead of the main election on Saturday, December 7, 2024, allows eligible voters involved in election-related duties, including election officials, security personnel, and media practitioners, to cast their ballots early.According to Ghana News Agency, some 131,478 voters, representing 0.007 percent of the total registered voters (18,741,159), are expected to participate in the Special Voting. The exercise will begin at 0700 hours and end at 1700 hours. The EC has confirmed that all election materials have been deployed to the centres and is fully prepared for the exercise. "We are ready to conduct transparent, credible and peaceful elections," Mrs. Jean Mensa, Chairperson, EC, told journalists on Friday.However, Mrs. Mensa clarified that security personnel and journalists who did not apply for the Special Voting will not be eligible to vote o n December 2 but can participate in the main election on December 7. She stated that votes cast during the Special Voting will not be counted on the day of the exercise. Instead, they will be counted on December 7 at the Constituency Collation Centres and added to the results from 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 including them in the final tally from all polling stations. To ensure security, all ballot boxes will be sealed and stored in a secure room at a Police Station within each constituency. The EC has also directed that Presiding Officers do not count the ballots cast during the Special Voting on that day.The National Elections Security Taskforce, chaired by Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, the Inspector-General of Police, has reassured the public of its readiness to provide maximum security to ensure the peaceful and safe conduct of the elect ions. Ghana's general elections for President and 276 Members of Parliament will take place on Saturday, December 7, 2024.