In a bid to ensure credible elections tomorrow, (Saturday December 7), the Electoral Commission(EC) has recruited and trained 210,000 temporary electoral officers.

The officers include returning officers and their deputies, presiding officers, relation officers, ballot issuers, verification officers, among others. 

To date, the EC has accredited close to 10,000 media men and women across the country to have access to all the 40,976 polling stations as well as constituency and regional collation centres, using their photo accreditation cards.

Furthermore over 20,000 accreditation cards have been issued to both local and international observant groups.

The Chairperson of the EC, Mrs Jean Mensa announced these measures on Thursday, December 5, 2024 at the last in a series of press conferences to update the public on electoral processes to ensure peaceful elections on Saturday, December 7.

The EC Chairperson stated that in addition to providing and revising the training models and providing each temporary staff with a copy of the training model, the Commission also developed “aid memoirs and distributed them to our teams.”

Aid memoirs

On the aid memoirs, Mrs Mensa explained that they are “simply instructional materials on various aspects of our work.”

She said for instance “today you will find that every presiding officer has an aid memoir that provides clear guidelines or clear instructions on how to correct errors on the various sheets that come before them. We also have an aid memoir of the number of times a party agent would request a recount, among others.”

She stated that the aid memoir also gives directions before the counting of ballots which requires presiding officers and all polling assistants to wear white gloves before they proceed to count the ballots. 

“All these instructions have been provided to our electoral staff in the form of aid memoirs and in a small booklet. They should not miss these instructions. In addition to that, we have made these aid memoirs a process just to inform the citizenry and to heighten awareness of some of these processes.”

The EC Chairperson further indicated that any citizen or election observer visiting the polling stations and witnessing any officer counting the ballots without wearing white gloves “can gently draw the attention of our officers to the requirements before counting.”

Mrs Mensa expressed confidence that the training and orientation the officers have received will enable them to perform their roles effectively and professionally.

Caution,advice

While commending directors, deputies, regional directors, district electoral officers and their deputies for “fighting a good fight”, the EC Chairperson cautioned temporary officers to abide by the values and motto of the Commission- transparency, fairness, and integrity. 

“Let truth guide you. We want to conduct elections that are orderly, transparent, peaceful, and credible. Elections that reflect the will of the people as expressed are the goals. We charge you to go forth and to serve God and country in this election and make Ghana proud” Mrs Mensa further urged electoral officers

She thanked the temporary officers who are mainly Returning Officers and Deputies, Relation Officers, Presiding Officers, Day of Reference Officers, and all the polling officials, “for the good work done so far.”

She however reminded them that they have “a tall responsibility and you have been given the training and equipped with the needed skills to carry out this task with distinction and a high level of professionalism.”

“As you know, the majority of the work will start from today through to the election day until the declaration and the days following. In our engagements and interactions with you, you have demonstrated your resolve to conduct elections by excellence” she said.

Mrs Mensa emphasised that the collective goals of both the temporary officers and the EC, “is not to make anyone a President or a Member of Parliament. Ours is to conduct orderly, credible, fair, and highly professional and efficient elections. That is what we have all been employed to do.”

In doing so, she charged the officers to do it with integrity and to let truth and fairness guide them in all their dealings.

“Follow and rewrite the directions provided by the Commission, including the wearing of masks before counting, the posting of leaflets at all polling stations, among others. Count the votes accurately and fill out the forms professionally” the EC Chairperson further advised.

She said the EC will at the end of the exercise conduct “an internal assessment and audits to assess each and every one of the officers”

Media

The EC Chairperson urged the media to uphold transparency and responsibility and abide by their Code of Ethics which govern them and to provide the public with the facts and the truth.

“It is important that we remember that Ghana is the only country we have. And when all is said and done, this is our country. We have no doubt that our media partners will rise to the task and cover the elections accurately and truthfully” she stated.

She thanked the media for walking the journey with the EC, which she observed has culminated in the achievement of this “level of transparency and accountability.”

Accreditation

On accreditation cards to both local and international observant groups, Mrs Mensa announced that a total of 42 international organisations applied for accreditation, and this shows the level of interest the international community has in the country’s elections.

She said accreditation has been granted to delegations from the Association of African-American Authorities, the Uganda Electoral Commission, the African Union Commission, the Commonwealth Secretariat, the National Democratic Institute and the International Republican Institute among others.

“We are confident that with the work we have put in and the elections we have put out, the results for the various observant groups, both local and international, will crystalise Ghana as a beacon of hope for democracy in Africa” the EC Chairperson stated.

Filing fees

She announced that the EC has waived the filing fees for women and persons with disabilities by 35 per cent saying “we are confident that these two sections of society will witness success at the election, and we hope to see an increase in their numbers when the polls are counted.”