Earlier this morning at the Ajumako Bisease polling station in the Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam Constituency, a visually impaired voter experienced both frustration while trying to cast his ballot in the 2024 general elections at the Osanadze Bantoma Anglican Primary School B.

The man, who was being assisted by a polling agent, encountered repeated failures with the Biometric Verification Device (BVD), which refused to recognize his fingerprints. Despite numerous attempts, the device rejected his identity, leaving both the voter and election officials at a loss.

After several failed tries, the polling agent informed the voter that he had been rejected multiple times. However, the man, undeterred, refused to accept defeat. “I want to be accepted, not rejected! Please, let me try again,” he insisted.

In a surprising twist, the voter decided to give his little finger a try. To everyone’s astonishment, the BVD instantly recognized the fingerprint, and the man was finally verified.

“After so many tries, I thought I might as well try my little finger. I couldn’t believe it when it worked,” the voter said with a broad smile, clearly relieved.

While the situation was frustrating at the time, it served as a reminder of the unpredictable nature of technology and the ingenuity required to overcome challenges.

With the verification successfully completed, the man was able to cast his vote, exercising his right to participate in the democratic process.

Election officials commended the voter for his patience and perseverance. “This is a testament to the resilience of our voters. It also underscores the need to ensure that our technology is accessible to everyone,” said one of the officials.

Background

The 2024 general elections are ongoing across 276 constituencies in the country, with 18.8 million people expected to vote.

The 2024 election has thirteen presidential candidates, with nine of them representing political parties and four being independent candidates.

Of the 18.8 million voters, 459,291 represent 4% of the voter population. 48% of the voters are male, while the female population makes up 52%.

The role of the youth in the elections will be significant as they make up 55% of the voter population.

A total of 40,976 polling centres will be used for the 2024 elections, with 328 already used for the Special Voting exercises that took place on Monday, December 2, and Thursday, December 5, 2024.

According to data published by CODEO, the largest CSO in elections, the 2024 elections will feature 801 parliamentary candidates vying for the 276 seats.

Of the 13 presidential candidates, four are independent, while nine represent political parties. This means that the elections will have nine political parties contesting.

In the parliamentary elections, there are 111 candidates contesting as independents.

Watch the video below

Visually impaired voter who overcomes BVD rejections to cast his vote.#ghanaweb#ghanawebtv #election #electiondesk pic.twitter.com/KKBCzovEXM

— GhanaWeb (@TheGhanaWeb) December 7, 2024