Confusion erupted between political party agents in the Upper East Regional capital Bolgatanga on Friday, November 2020, upon the arrival of electoral materials for the December 7 elections. The misunderstanding came as a result of where to keep the electoral materials for safety ahead of the December 7 elections. But unfortunately, the party agents, especially agents of the two main political parties NDC / NPP and the Police all share different views on where the electoral materials will be kept for safety. Sadly, shortly after the electoral materials were brought into the Regional at the Regional Police Headquarters, party representatives of the various political parties were seen uncomfortable as they started registering displeasure following where the electoral material will be kept for safety ahead of the Parliamentary and Presidential December elections. Meanwhile earlier on, the police proposed a certain location but unfortunately, the opposition NDC were not in agreement as they rejected the proposal insisting that the electoral material should be kept at the usual place inside a room by the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) building for sleeping dogs to lie, and that proposal by the opposition NDC was accepted by all the stakeholders. However, after the agreement by all stakeholders, they all examined the electoral materials which enable them to take a record of the serial numbers printed on the ballot papers Some election observers from the European Union (EU) were present to witness the event. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications
Splitting of Some centers have created about 5,000 plus centers- Dr. Serebour Quarcoe
The Director of Electoral Service, Dr. Serebour Quarcoe at the Electoral Commission (EC) has disclosed in an interview with Citi News which was monitored by Apexnewsgh.com that the commission wants to reduce the queuing at the polling stations. According to Dr. Quarcoe, the Commission had decided to put the threshold at 749. He said any center that is more than that will be split. “…so, there are some centers that have been split into five. Some are four, three, and two. The splitting has created about 5,000 plus centers. So, there are no new centers. The splitting is around the whole country but mostly in areas that are densely populated,” he stated. However, the newly added polls have seen the number of polling stations ballooned to 38,000 polling stations across the country. Meanwhile, the Chairperson of the Commission, Jean Mensa has assured Parliament that her outfit is 95 percent ready for the successful, credible, fair, and peaceful conduct of the election on December 7, 2020. Following the misconception in the public domain that she disrespected the house by not honoring their earlier invitation, Madam Jean Mensa said, It is important to emphasize that this is the first time she has been invited by the House in her capacity as the EC Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, and she has on no occasion turned down an invitation from the Parliament of Ghana. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please kindly contact Apexnewsgh.com on email:apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications.
32,621 names on the voter register do not represent unique individuals- EC Chair
Madam Jean Mensa has clarified that the 32,621 names on the voter register do not represent unique individuals who have found their names onto the register but rather the number of times multiple registrations or a breach occurred. The EC Chair made the revelation when she appeared in Parliament on Saturday, November 7, 2020, to brief members of the house on their preparations ahead of December 7. Meanwhile, the Commission was invited to appear before the House on Thursday, November 5 but failed to show up. It was also revealed by Madam EC Chair, that Fifty-one (51) persons, who initially challenged the Electoral Commission’s decision to erase their names from the 2020 voters register in court due to various alleged irregularities, have had their names reinstated on the register. According to her, the 51 were part of a multiples and exceptions’ list with over 32,000 applicants. Clarifying further, Madam Jean Mensah explained that the 32,621 do not represent unique individuals whose names were found on the register but rather the number of times multiple registrations or a breach transpired. However, appearing before the House, Madam Mensa gave an account of the total cost on the new voting system already acquired for the conduct of its activities, stressing that only a part payment has been made to the vendors for the main time. She was confident that the infrastructure deployed mainly the biometric registration kits, verification kits, the software, and the data centers are working effectively. On the issues regarding voter register, Madam Mensa said a total of 17,029,971 unique individuals were registered after the process, which started on Tuesday, June 30, and 32,621 were put on a list of multiples (18,619) and exceptions (14,002) for a variety of illegal practices including under-aged registration. Apexnewsgh.com/ Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please kindly contact Apexnewsgh.com on email:apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications.
Ghana can’t have peaceful elections when citizens are not committed to peace – EC
The Greater Accra Regional Director of the Electoral Commission (EC), says Ghana cannot have peaceful elections when citizens’ actions and inactions do not show their commitment to ensuring peace. According to Mr George Kwame Amoah, it is essential that Ghanaians are tolerant of each other and respect the choice of others in elections. “This will help us prevent attacks, insults, and intimidation among others, which are creeping into the country’s politics,” he said during the launch of Agents of Peace Campaign. His comments come after some NPP and NDC members attacked each other after a peace walk at Odododiodio in Accra. Mr Amoah speaking during the launch by the Church of Pentecost Kaneshie Area, on the theme: “Seek Peace and Pursue It” described the violence as “horrible”. He stated it was proper to allow political parties to have the freedom to a campaign since Ghana chose the path of democracy. People should have the opportunity to freely choose candidates or parties they were comfortable with, he added. Mr Amoah said, “peace is invaluable, don’t take it for granted. Countries who lost peace took many years to get it back. We need to pursue peace even after elections.” Ghana cannot afford to lose the peace her citizens are enjoying, he noted. The members of the church present also took the opportunity to pray for the upcoming elections, political parties and security agencies among others. The launch was characterised by patriotic songs, poetry recitals, and a documentary on some incidences of electoral violence and their effects. The campaign is expected to be replicated in 87 local assemblies within the Church’s 22 districts. Mr Amoah commended the Church for the campaign and appealed to the conscience of the people on the need to sustain the peace. The Deputy Greater Accra Regional Minister, Mrs Elizabeth Sackey, urged all to “walk the talk of peace” and desist from paying lip service to it. The Greater Accra Regional Director of the National Commission for Civic Education, Mrs. Lucille Hewlett Annan, noted that it would be difficult for people to enjoy their rights if there was no peace. She appealed to citizens to resort to arbitration, litigation, mediation and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms instead of war to address their grievances. The Kaneshie Area Head of the Church of Pentecost, Apostle Mike Etrue, appealed to the youth to avoid being used as instruments of violence. “The youth should not build their muscles in violence but must build faith muscle for peace,” he said. He appealed to political leaders to seek peace because that remained paramount in Ghana’s democracy and development. GNA Please, kindly contact Apexnewsgh on email: apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible publications.









