Presidential ballot papers to be printed next week - EC

The Electoral Commission (EC) will early next week begin the printing of presidential ballot papers for the 2016 general elections, the Head of Communications at EC, Mr Eric Kofi Dzakpasu has said. 

According to him, the commission was in the process of printing parliamentary ballots and notices of poll which he explained were more involving than the presidential ballots.

Speaking on Accra-based Class FM, he said the commission was focused and was concentrating on the Notice of Polls and the printing of the ballot papers.  

To help curb the menace of increasing numbers of rejected ballots, Mr Dzakpasu said the commission has introduced some features on the ballots by widening the black borders that separates candidates.

Rejected ballots have over the years been a source of worry to many since in some circumstances it accounted for higher percentage than all the votes of smaller parties put together.

In 2008 it accounted for 2.4 per cent of the valid votes cast, 2 per cent less than 2004 and Mr Dzakpasu explained that "What we are doing is that the first  black borderline that separates one candidate from another has been widened the more so that the thumb print of one candidate cannot not overlap and flow into the box of another."

In the 2012 general election, 251,720 rejected votes (2.3 percent), were higher than the total votes secured by all the other presidential candidates, excluding those of the NDC and the NPP.