CODEO reports vote-buying and ballot photography in special voting

The Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) has reported incidents of vote-buying and the photographing of cast ballots during the special voting exercise organized by the Electoral Commission on Monday, 2 December 2024.

The exercise took place across 14 of the country’s 16 regions with two other regions, Eastern and Western expected to hold theirs on Thursday, December 5.

In a press statement, CODEO revealed that 228 observers were deployed across 216 constituencies, where nearly all polling stations had agents from both the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

The observers also noted that 97% of polling stations did not experience malfunctions of the Biometric Verification Device (BVD) system.

However, CODEO highlighted several critical incidents, including the photographing of thumb-printed ballots.

In the Cape Coast North Constituency in the Central Region, a voter attempted to photograph their vote but was intercepted by security officials.

In the Ablekuma South Constituency in the Greater Accra Region, another voter took a photograph of their ballot paper showing their vote for the presidential candidate. Similar incidents were reported in the Walewale Constituency in the Northeast Region, as well as in Bolgatanga Central and Navrongo Central in the Upper East Region.

Additionally, CODEO observers reported two cases of alleged vote-buying. In Keta, Volta Region, party representatives at the polling station distributed money to voters in exchange for votes for their candidate.

In the Weija-Gbawe Constituency in the Greater Accra Region, individuals believed to be NPP party representatives were seen handing out 100 and 50 cedi notes to voters at the entrance to the polling station, allegedly to secure votes for the NPP candidate.

In Jaman North, Bono Region, a non-uniformed police officer attempted to prevent NPP party officials and representatives from distributing money, which reportedly led to verbal confrontations between the officer and the party representatives.

In conclusion, CODEO commended the Electoral Commission and other stakeholders for the generally smooth execution of the special voting exercise.

The coalition urged the Commission to ensure that voting on 7 December proceeds smoothly, fairly, and freely.

Source: myjoyonline.com