EC burns faulty ballot papers for Ahafo and Volta regions (video)

The Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) has destroyed faulty ballot papers initially intended for distribution in the Ahafo and Volta regions by burning them. The exercise, which took place on Thursday, 21st November, at the Adipa Waste Management Centre in the Eastern Region, was supervised by the EC in collaboration with personnel from the Ghana Police Service, the National Intelligence Bureau, and National Security. The process was closely monitored by political party agents and members of the media.

Several bundles of ballot papers, transported in three truckloads, were soaked in petrol and set ablaze. This follows the recent destruction of another substantial batch of defective electoral materials, which included excess materials, printing plates, and scrap items.

The ballot papers, which were intended for the 2024 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections, were discarded due to serialisation errors uncovered during an audit. The EC attributed the issue to gaps in the automated serialisation process, which disrupted the sequence of serial numbers. The EC explained in a previous statement dated 16th November 2024:

Our audit revealed that the printing house responsible for printing the ballots for Ahafo and Volta had encountered a number of challenges. While the printing process itself had proceeded smoothly, the serialisation, which was supposed to be done through an automated system to provide serial numbers in sequence, contained gaps.

To address the problem, the EC has opted to reprint the ballot papers, assigning the task to Buck Press and Acts Commercials. The Commission reaffirmed its commitment to delivering credible elections on 7th December 2024.

Watch video below:

Ablaze! ???? Watch as EC destroys defective ballot papers from the Ahafo & Volta Regions! ????#GhanaPolls2024#ElectionBureau#CitiVerify pic.twitter.com/7CD08WyFhH

— ChannelOne TV (@Channel1TVGHA) November 21, 2024

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