EC reports smooth voting process despite isolated incidents 

The Electoral Commission (EC) has described the just ended voting process for the presidential and parliamentary elections as largely successful.

The commission said apart from an incident at Nyankpala in the Tolon Constituency in the Northern Region that led to the death of one person the voting process has been smooth and peaceful.

The Director of Electoral Services, Benjamin Bano-Bio, said this at the fourth media briefing at the EC headquarters in Accra on Saturday, December 7, 2024.

He said voting had successfully been brought to a close, with about 95 per cent of polling stations closing on schedule by 5 p.m. 

Mr Bano-Bio said with some few areas where voters still remained in the queue after 5 p.m. voting was continuing beyond the official closing time.

He said there was also a significant reduction in the processing time for voters, with the average time spent in processing being less than three minutes.

The improvement, the Director of Electoral Services said, was attributed to the effective performance of biometric verification devices (BVDs) and the commission's strategy to ensure a smooth voting process.

"We set up a strategy that ensured a smooth flow of the process," Mr Bano-Bio explained, adding that "This includes the threshold at 750, and then the increase of polling stations throughout the country."

The EC Director of Electoral Services said the number of polling stations increased from 38,622 in 2020 to 40,648 this year, reducing congestion and wait times.

"Voter turnout was described as "very massive," with the elections proceeding seamlessly and peacefully, except for a few isolated incidents of violence that resulted in one fatality," he said.

Mr Bano-Bio emphasised that the incident was not as a result of any action or inaction of any EC official.

The Director of Electoral Services commended the EC staff, agents and the media for their professionalism and cooperation throughout the voting process. 

Mr Bano-Bio urged the media to ensure the accuracy of their reports, crosschecking their results with the EC before publishing. 

He added that the commission's call centres and website were available for any inquiries or concerns.