An unexpected development has arisen during the ongoing by-election in the Kumawu constituency, as allegations of an already signed pink sheet surfaced at a voting center.
At the Oyoko Methodist Primary School polling station, reports say an officer was seen forcing agents to append their signatures on the sheet even before the elections began.
National Democratic Congress (NDC) officials suspected foul play and called for the suspension of proceedings until a regional Electoral Commission head shows up to clarify the modalities.
But the Ashanti Regional EC Director, Benjamin Banor-Bio has denied the claims.
He told Daily Graphic that what happened was a mistake by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) agent at the polling station and that, no one was forced to sign any form.
The EC Director explained that the incident that occurred this morning involved the signing process. Initially, the agents were instructed to sign the first portion of the form and later write their names on another form, signing against their respective names once the polls concluded.
“…after the agents signed the first portion, the presiding officer asked them to write their names on the other form, [and] sign against their names after the close of polls,” he said.
However, he noted that the NPP agent inadvertently continued signing his portion after writing his name.
Upon bringing the issue to the attention of the EC, Mr. Banor-Bio stated that the Commission promptly provided a replacement pink sheet for the affected agents.
“We immediately replaced the pink sheet for them.”
Mr Banor-Bio clarified that there are two distinct types of pink sheets that require the signature of every agent present at the polling station.
Prior to the commencement of voting, the agents sign one section of the form as an acknowledgment of the number of ballots issued to the station and the number of registered voters.
Furthermore, he mentioned that the agents also affix their signatures to the form after the vote-counting process as evidence of their presence during the counting.
Source: myjoyonline
BRichard Koomson| mediacentralonline.info |Ghana
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