The Deputy Director of Elections and IT for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr. Rashid Tanko-Computer, has accused the Ashanti Regional Electoral Commission (EC) Director of blocking the party’s attempt to seal ballot boxes during the special voting exercise on December 2, 2024.

In an interview on Joy News’ PM Express, Dr. Tanko-Computer described the incident as a serious violation of electoral procedures and a potential threat to Ghana’s democracy. He explained that, under normal circumstances, political parties are permitted to place their seals on ballot boxes to ensure the integrity of the elections. However, Dr. Tanko-Computer alleged that the Ashanti Regional EC Director instructed district officers to deny the NDC this right.

When he confronted the official, Dr. Tanko-Computer said the EC Director questioned the NDC’s intention to place seals on all 400 ballot boxes, to which he responded that every box should be sealed as per the regulations. The matter was escalated to senior EC officials, who intervened, but by then, some districts had already been affected by the initial directive.

Dr. Tanko-Computer also criticized the regional EC Director for allegedly instructing officials not to share the validation stamp number with party agents, which he argued contravened electoral law. He claimed this prevented agents from verifying the authenticity of stamps on the pink sheets during the sorting process.

Responding to the allegations, Evans Nimako, Director of Research and Elections for the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), dismissed the concerns as exaggerated, stating that the sealing of ballot boxes occurs at multiple levels. He suggested that the NDC could have rectified any missed seals at a later stage and accused Dr. Tanko-Computer of inflating the issue. Nimako also suggested that the NDC was unnecessarily creating tension over a minor issue.

Source:TheDotNews