Ahead of the upcoming December 7 general election, the Electoral Commission conducted a Special Voting exercise on December 2, 2024 to allow security personnel, essential services staff, the media and other designated groups to cast their ballots.

The exercise is crucial for ensuring that these individuals can fulfill their duties while also participating in the democratic process.

GhanaWeb TV visited some polling centers in the capital Accra where these individuals thronged to cast their ballots.

A returning officer of the Commission in the Ayawaso East polling centre situated at the Nima Police Station mentioned that the process had been smooth thus far with no recorded anomalies.

He pointed out that once voting has ended, the ballots cast will be secured in the armory of the District Police Command awaiting a final count on election day.

“The Special Voting ballots and the materials relating to it will be kept at the armory of the District Police Command and under tight security. On December 7, 2024, after casting all the votes, we will record this one first on the statement of poll on the collation form before the other polling station details,” he told GhanaWeb TV.

“The special voting is being closely observed, and as authorities, we are ensuring that all procedures are followed correctly to maintain transparency and fairness,” the EC returning officer added.

The special voting exercise, designed to accommodate personnel on election duties, involved over 130,000 voters across 14 regions.

Initially, the exercise was to take place in 328 voting centers across all 16 regions.

However, the Electoral Commission rescheduled voting for the Eastern and Western Regions to Thursday, December 5, 2024, due to the leakage of a defaced presidential ballot paper designated for the two regions.



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