Rejected ballots pose threat to our democracy

As citizens reflect on the country’s democratic processes, a pressing concern emerges: the increasing number of rejected ballots in every election year. 

This trend not only undermines the integrity of our electoral system but also poses a key challenge to the electoral process and Ghana’s   quest for democratic consolidation, consequently silencing the voices of citizens who strive to exercise their fundamental right to vote. 

Since 1992,  there has been a phenomenal increase in the incidence of rejected ballots during elections, making it difficult for the decision of the electorate to be known. Sometimes, these rejected ballot papers have amounted to huge percentages of the votes in excess of the total number of votes garnered by some political parties.  

In other instances,  these rejected ballots could have been added to the votes of political parties that lost elections to make them winners.

Indeed, rejected ballots have gradually become the third force in successive elections, beating established political parties and independent candidates who campaigned.

Expressed as a fraction of the total number of voters, rejected ballots recorded 3.6 per cent of total ballots cast in the 1992 polls, settled at 1.53 per cent in 1996, and 1.8 per cent in 2000.

In the 2000 presidential run-off, the percentage of rejected ballots was 1.58 of ballots cast.

It went up again in 2004 to hit 2.13 per cent, and then 2.4 per cent in the 2008 elections. In the 2008 presidential election, for instance, the number of rejected ballots recorded in the first round was significantly higher than ever, both in nominal terms and in percentages.

It is imperative that we address this issue to ensure the health and legitimacy of our democracy. 

To tackle this problem, we must first comprehend what constitutes a rejected ballot. A rejected ballot as has been explained over the past elections held in the country is one that cannot be counted due to specific reasons such as the lack of official validation marks, multiple marks or thumbprints, ambiguous or stray marks, identification of the voter, compromising secrecy and absence of any mark or choice.

Explicitly, the rising number of rejected ballots has severe implications for our democratic journey as it leads to the disenfranchisement of citizens and a diminished trust in the electoral process.

It also has the potential to alter election outcomes while undermining the consolidation and stability of our democracy.

Certainly, the high incidence of rejected ballots has raised concerns about the effectiveness of the electoral system, and solutions must be found to the challenge without any further delay.

To help address the issue, the Daily Graphic proposes enhanced voter education where comprehensive programmes are instituted to educate voters on proper ballot marking and submission procedures.

The Electoral Commission (EC), and especially the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), should explore the various platforms available to them such as town hall meetings, visits to schools, churches and mosques; the media, attendance at political party rallies, among others, to embark on this important activity.

The political parties themselves should be interested in helping to educate their supporters and party followers on proper voting processes since rejected ballots affect them inevitably.

At their various political rallies, they can invite officials from the EC, the NCCE and other governance-related bodies to address them on the proper ways of voting to avoid rejected ballots.

We are of the opinion that relevant institutions mandated to carry out public education need not wait till it is an election year before they educate the public on this important issue at this stage of the country’s democracy.

Though printing of ballot papers is almost completed, apart from those of the Ahafo and Volta regions which are reported to have been discarded because of inconsistencies in serial numbers, we urge the EC to take into consideration an improved ballot design going forward so that future elections would have simplified and clear ballot designs to minimise the confusion that voters are confronted with while exercising their franchise.

The paper also thinks that training for poll officials must be thorough to ensure accurate handling and counting of ballots. Again, with the current application of technology to many activities, the country must, as a matter of course, integrate and leverage technology such as electronic voting into our electoral process to streamline voting, minimise spoilt ballots and human errors.

The increasing trend of rejected ballots demands urgent attention and collective action. As responsible citizens, we must work together to strengthen our democratic institutions and guarantee the integrity of our electoral process.