EC orders recall and reprinting of Eastern and Western ballot papers over leakage

The Electoral Commission (EC) has mandated the recall and reprinting of ballot papers for the Eastern and Western Regions following a leakage in the initial batch. The announcement was made by the EC Chairperson, Jean Mensa, during an emergency press briefing on Sunday, December 1.

The need for the recall arose after National Security informed the Commission that a single defaced ballot paper was inadvertently taken from Checkpoint Printing Limited, the printing company responsible for the original batch. Although the paper was marked for destruction, it somehow left the printing facility, which has been working with the Commission since 1992.

The reprinting will now be handled by Dark Press and Innolink. Consequently, the special voting scheduled for Monday, December 2, in the two regions will be postponed to Thursday, December 5, ahead of the general election on Saturday, December 7. The new ballot papers will feature enhanced security features to ensure they can be easily distinguished from those previously circulated.

The EC emphasized that the recall is necessary to maintain the integrity of the election process. All political parties and candidates have been informed and have agreed to the recall and reprinting of the ballots.

In a related development, the EC also reprinted ballots for the Ahafo and Volta regions earlier due to printing errors. Additionally, the Commission has identified a shortfall in the number of ballot papers sent to some regions and is working to address the discrepancy.