Special Voting Rescheduled in Eastern and Western Regions Due to Ballot Paper Concerns.

Accra: The Electoral Commission (EC) has reached a consensus with political parties to reschedule the Special Voting Exercise in the Eastern and Western regions. Initially set for Monday, December 2, 2024, the voting will now take place on Thursday, December 5, 2024. This adjustment follows the decision to recall and reprint ballot papers due to a defaced ballot paper found among the presidential ballots for the Eastern Region.According to Ghana News Agency, the emergency Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting held on Sunday saw Mrs. Jean Mensa, Chairperson of the EC, explaining that the decision was made because Checkpoint Limited, the printing house for the Eastern Region, also printed the ballot papers for the Western Region. Concerns were raised about the integrity of the process, prompting the move to recall the ballots.The National Security highlighted the issue by detecting defaced ballot papers among those designated for destruction in the Eastern Region. The recall was deemed necessary to prevent the potential detection and replication of the security features on the ballot papers. To address this, the EC has appointed Buck Press to reprint the Western Region ballots, while Innolink Limited and Acts Commercials will handle the Eastern Region reprints. New security features and revised serial numbers will be implemented to ensure integrity.Mrs. Mensa urged voters in the affected regions to be patient with the Commission during this process. The political parties involved expressed support for the EC's decision, although they acknowledged it as a 'heavy decision.' Dr. Edward Omane Boamah of the National Democratic Congress and Mr. Evans Nimako of the New Patriotic Party emphasized the need for a full-scale investigation by security agencies to maintain the electoral process's integrity.