EC opens up ballot paper printing to media with tour

In a major step towards promoting transparency in the electoral process, the Electoral Commission (EC) has opened up the process of printing ballot papers for the December 7 polls to the media.

Ghanaians will go to the polls on December 7, this year, to elect a President and 276 Members of Parliament, and in preparation for that,  a team of officials from the EC yesterday led journalists to some of the printing companies, where they were given access to the production rooms to observe the printing process, an exercise the EC said was the first time. 

Although it is being printed by six companies, the EC's 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.

Transparency

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.

Observation

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 the agents of political parties keeping eagles eye on the production. 

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 National Democratic Congress (NDC), the New Patriotic Party (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.
 
EC satisfied

Dr Bossman Asare said the EC was satisfied with the level of participation and cooperation from the political parties and security agencies.

He said 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 next week.

Until the death of the GFP presidential candidate, Akua Donkor, 13 aspirants were expected to be on the ballot paper.