Dr. Edward Omane Boamah, NDC Director of Elections
• EC Rejects Allegations, Assures Fair Printing
In a shocking twist that could upend confidence in the upcoming elections, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has sounded the alarm on what it claims is a large-scale overprinting of ballot papers by Electoral Commission (EC)-contracted firms. According to the NDC, certain companies have significantly overshot their assigned quotas, threatening the transparency of the electoral process.
NDC ballot printing supervisor, Richard Jakpa, shared these alarming findings in an exclusive interview. He stated that firms responsible for printing ballots in the Ashanti, Eastern, Savanna, and North East regions have reportedly produced an additional 3,000 ballots per constituency. With 93 constituencies across these regions, the total overrun reaches a staggering 279,000 extra ballots—numbers Jakpa insists could “jeopardise the integrity of the entire electoral process.”
Breaking down the distribution, Jakpa pointed out that Ashanti has 47 constituencies, Eastern has 33, Savanna has 7, and North East has 6. The justification given by the printing companies was that the extra ballots accounted for “internal operational losses,” a reason Jakpa dismisses, particularly as other firms have not reported similar discrepancies.
The NDC’s suspicions of foul play are further heightened by the regions affected: two are ruling party strongholds, while the remaining two are battlegrounds for the opposition. “This raises questions about potential tampering,” Jakpa asserted. “Why are certain firms producing more ballots than necessary, and for these specific regions?”
Beyond the overprinting allegations, the NDC has also criticised the EC’s management of ballot printing. YASARKO, one of the contractors, reportedly had its contract cancelled due to poor performance, while the Checkpoint printing company struggled to deliver for the Central region. FONSTAT allegedly mishandled ballot serial numbers in one region, and Ghana Publishing reportedly faced mechanical failures that stalled ballot production.
The NDC is questioning the EC’s readiness, with Jakpa posing the question, “How can the Commission claim preparedness when printing is marred by irregularities?”
However, the EC has dismissed the NDC’s claims. At the launch of the National Peace Campaign on November 3, EC Deputy Chairman of Operations Samuel Tettey reassured the public of a “transparent ballot printing process.” Dr Bossman Asare of the EC echoed this, asserting that printing takes place “with full party participation to ensure quality and accountability,” with parties sealing and padlocking ballots after bagging.
As the 2024 general election approaches, the NDC’s concerns over ballot overprinting and management issues cast a shadow of doubt, raising critical questions about the integrity of the process.
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