[ 2016-12-04 ]

SPECIAL VOTING 2: Confusion rocks Subin constituency over missing names
Hundreds of security personnel are reported to be
angry after returning to a polling center in the
Subin constituency in the Ashanti Region to cast
their ballots in Sunday’s extension’s of the
Special Voting exercise only to be told that their
names are missing in the voters register.

The affected were denied the opportunity to
exercise their franchise on Thursday, December 1,
2016 during the main edition of the early voting
exercise.

Thousands of security personnel, including the
Eastern Regional Police Commander, DCOP Peterkin
Yentumi-Gyinae, and others couldn’t cast their
ballot because their names were not on the list of
the voters register submitted to the designated
polling centers by the Commission.

Sunday’s exercise is the extension of the
Special Voting exercise that took place on
Thursday, December 1, 2016.

The extension was triggered by missing names and
other irregularities that marred the early voting
exercise on Thursday.

The decision to continue with the exercise
followed the Electoral Commission’s meeting with
representatives of the political parties and the
hierarchy of the Police Service in an emergency
meeting Thursday.

The angry security personnel were spotted
exchanging words with the Returning Officers
mandated by the EC to supervise the elections at
the polling station.

The Presiding Officer in an interview with TV3 was
seen calming nerves down.

“If you registered in Obuasi and you have been
transferred to Kumasi but did not transfer your
vote to Subin constituency but have your ID card
and bring it to here to vote, you will be denied.
However, you have to exercise restraint because
they are going to bring the main voters list for
the Special Voting exercise and if your name is
there, you will be allowed to cast your ballot,”
the Returning Officer noted.

But the angry security personnel do not understand
why the EC officials, despite having such measure
in place, did not take the main voters list for
the Special Voting exercise along to forestall any
eventuality.

The early voting exercise, Kasapafmonline.com
understands, is being conducted with the same
voters register that was used for Thursday’s
exercise.

The story is not different from other polling
stations across the country.

A total of 1, 626 people are expected to cast
their ballots in the two polling centers in the
Subin Constituency.

The main elections come off December 7, where a
president and 275 parliamentarians will be elected
to help govern the country in the next four
years.

Special voting is a special dispensation under the
electoral laws of Ghana that allows registered
voters who will not be able to present themselves
at their polling stations on voting day as a
result of the roles they will play in the polls to
vote on a date before the rest of the electorate
vote on the date set for the elections.

The categories of people who are allowed to do
special voting are security personnel, officials
of the EC and journalists.

Source - Kasapafm

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