Political analyst opposes EC’s 3 PM voting proposal

Mr Samuel Boateng a political analyst, says he disagrees with the Electoral Commission on the proposal to close polls at 3 pm in upcoming general elections.

According to him, the move could disenfranchise many people especially "poor farmers" in rural areas who may want to go to the farm early morning when polls have not opened and return to vote in the evening.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Soiree News, he said, the current arrangement of closing polls at 5 pm should be maintained. His comment follows a proposal after a two-day IPAC workshop last week, which suggested a 7 am open of polls and 3 pm closure of same.

The Electoral Commission (EC) is planning reforms which are to ensure the closure of polls in the 2024 general elections at 3 pm on Election Day instead of the usual 5 pm.

This will mean that no one will be admitted to the polling station to cast their ballot after 3 pm but if a voter happens to be in the queue after 3 pm, voting will continue until everybody in the queue has voted.

The move is to help pave the way for early counting of votes and declaration of results at the polling station and to avoid the inconveniences associated with the late close of polls.

The reform forms part of a 16-point proposal by the Electoral Commission (EC) that was agreed on by the Interparty Advisory Committee (IPAC) at the end of a two-day review workshop of the 2020 general elections in Accra.

The workshop was attended by over 10 political parties including the New Patriotic Party (NPP), People’s National Convention (PNC), Convention People’s Party (CPP), Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP), National Democratic Party (NDP) and the Ghana Union Movement (GUM).

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) did not participate in the workshop.

Nana Ama Asiedu Bono Region