In Election 2024, the EC will broadcast scanned pink sheets with results from all voting locations on a separate portal.

As part of its attempts to improve openness in the 2024 general election, the Electoral Commission (EC) wants to broadcast results from multiple polling sites on a dedicated internet portable.

The Commission stated that scanned, signed pink sheets would be shown on the portal, which the public would be able to access in real time.

Mrs. Jane Mensa, Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, said this at a stakeholder gathering to assess events following the 2020 general election in preparation for the 2024 general election.

The National Peace Council organized the meeting, which took place on Thursday in Peduase, Eastern Region.

Mrs. Mensa stated that publishing polling station results would foster participation and citizen involvement throughout the electoral process.

“We intend to display the polling station results on a dedicated portal.” This suggestion is consistent with the recommendation of the EU Observer Mission. For the first time in our history, we posted real-time results from the 16 regions and 275 constituencies.

“This time, we intend to post the scanned, signed pink sheets on a dedicated portal.” “We are confident that this arrangement will increase transparency and build trust in our electoral processes,” she said.

The EC will close polls at 3 p.m.
The EC also advocated closing polls at 15:00 p.m. to ensure that counting takes place in broad daylight, which would increase transparency.

According to the Commission, the experience from the 2020 Election showed that by 13:00 hours, almost 70% of polling centers were empty of voters due to the construction of multiple polling centers, which sped up the process.

Mrs. Mensa stated that the EC aimed to establish a large number of polling locations and ensure that each polling location had no more than 500 voters to limit voting time.

She stated that because additional voting centers were established in the past election, voters spent no more than five minutes casting their ballots.

“We are convinced that closing the polls at 3 p.m. will allow counting and collating to take place in broad daylight, promoting the transparency and orderliness that we so desperately need.”

“We trust that our Parliament will support this drive to ensure greater transparency and orderliness in our electoral process,” Mensa stated in a statement.

The Commission also recommended an exhibition exercise that would run all year, allowing residents to check their registration details on their smartphones and other mobile devices.

Mrs. Mensa expressed optimism that Parliament would approve the new Constitutional Instrument, which proposed a continuous voter registration process and intended to make the Ghana Card the single identifying document used to determine an applicant’s citizenship.

She stated that the plan would aid in the phase-out of the guarantor system, which had been beset with difficulties and had harmed the confidence of the voters.

The Chairman of the National Peace Council, Reverend Dr. Ernest Adu-Gyamfi, stated that the Council would maintain constant discussion with all stakeholders to achieve a peaceful election in 2024.

He urged the National Democratic Congress to reconvene the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) in order to develop consensus.

“If we all commit to peace, Ghana will have one of the best elections in Africa,” he went on to say.

Ms. Kathleen Addy, Chairperson of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), stated that the 2024 election was unusual in light of the West African sub-region’s political instability.

“We are more exposed than ever before.” “We must collaborate and reassure one another so that we can arrive at the elections and beyond in peace and intact,” she stated.

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