The Electoral Commission has clarified events leading to the burning of some ballot papers by members of the Commission in the presence of a representative of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
In a statement issued by the Commission and sighted by JoyNews, the EC explained that, the exercise was to get rid of waste and damaged ballots and the plates that bear the design of each ballot.
“After such a massive printing exercise, there is always waste or damaged ballots which are shredded by each printing house in the presence of the Political Party agents,” the statement said.
“These shredded ballots are then burnt in incinerators together with the plates that bear the design of each ballot. It is important to emphasize that the burning takes place in incinerators owned and located within some printing houses such as Buckpress and in the public incinerating sites if the printing house does not have such plant,” it added.
The EC’s clarification follows an interview by a member of the NDC alleging that the Commission had printed over one million extra ballot papers ahead of the elections and was forced to burn them after being exposed by the opposition NDC.
But rubbishing the claims, the Electoral Commission said it was “difficult to understand how the Commission would secretly print one million ballots and then, openly, in broad daylight, burn all the ballots in the presence of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, the Bureau of National Investigations, Criminal Investigation Department of the Ghana Police Service and political parties”.
The Commission used the platform to urge all media houses to verify all information regarding the election and be circumspect in their reportage as the country inches closer to the December 7 polls.
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