EC burns excess ballot papers, printing plates for Ahafo and Volta, shares proof

The Electoral Commission (EC) has disclosed that it destroyed a significant quantity of electoral materials for the Ahafo and Volta regions. These materials, which included excess and scrap ballot papers, as well as printing plates used for the Presidential and Parliamentary ballots, were destroyed by burning. This action follows the EC’s decision to discard faulty ballot papers originally intended for distribution in both regions, after discovering issues with serialisation.

In a statement issued on 16th November, 2024 the EC explained: “Our audit revealed that the printing house that was 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.” As a result, the EC decided to reprint the ballot papers and promptly informed the political parties at an Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting on Friday, November 15.

In the latest statement dated Sunday, November 17, and signed by the Deputy Chairman in charge of Operations, Samuel Tettey, the EC disclosed that a quantity of electoral materials had been burned on Saturday, 16th November 2024. The destruction was carried out under strict supervision by the EC, with the presence of agents from various political parties, the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), National Security, and personnel from the Ghana Police Service.

The EC further confirmed that it would account for all the printed ballot papers for the Ahafo and Volta regions on Sunday, 17th November 2024, and ensure their subsequent destruction. “The Commission will today, Sunday the 17th of November 2024, account for all the ballot papers printed for both regions, which will be burnt subsequently due to challenges with the serial numbers. The Commission will inform the political parties and other stakeholders in due course to enable them to observe the destruction of these ballot papers.”

Below is the EC’s statement and proof of destruction of the electoral materials.

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