Security personnel including those from the military, Police Service, Customs and Preventive Services (CEPS), Ghana Immigration Service, Ghana National Fire Service, in the Sunyani East constituency on Tuesday cast their votes in the Electoral Commission organised special voting exercise.

When the GNA visited the Regional Police headquarters at about 0930 hours, they were in a long queue at the polling station patiently waiting for their turn to cast their votes.

About 302 out of 1,000 names on the register had cast their votes by that time.

Mr. Yaw Badu Amaniampong, presiding officer, said the number of voters could increase because they were yet to receive names of others including election officials, the media, commandeered drivers and CODEO observers who had applied to take part in the special voting.

He said “ The only problem we have encountered is that some of the voters come to the station holding old identification cards and when told they can not vote with such cards they get annoyed and engaged in hot exchanges with us.”

Mr. Amaniampong said such persons were asked to go to the regional office of the EC for a solution to the problem but they refused and insisted that they should be allowed to vote because they voted in the year 2004 with the same ID and should not be denied to exercise their franchise.

Mr. Amaniampong said election materials were received on time and all party agents presented themselves at the police station when the election materials were being taken to the polling station.

When the GNA visited the police station only representatives of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (MDC) were present.

At about 1042 hours at the Liberation barracks also in Sunyani East, military personnel were in a queue anxiously waiting for their turn to cast their ballots.

Mr. Edward Awenseba, presiding officer, said that he expected all the 214 eligible voters at the polling station to cast their ballots, adding, soldiers stationed at the barracks but on duty at other parts of the region were expected to vote on transfer.

At the time of arrival, 200 of them had voted for parliamentary slot whilst 199 out of 214 eligible voters expected to cast their votes had cast for the presidential slot.

The presiding officer said the electoral officials arrived on time for the exercise to begin at 0700 hours but the exercise started at 0715 hours due to a delay caused by the soldiers to report at the station on time.

A senior military officer, whose name was not disclosed, was disallowed to vote as he presented his Armed Forces ID card instead of a voter ID card.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, he explained that he failed to register when the registration exercise was opened for eligible voters, though he was in the country.

Mr. Awenseba said there was no shortage of electoral material and everything was intact and the exercise was being conducted in a peaceful manner.

“So far it's been very peaceful here. You know, this is a barracks and you can expect nothing but discipline, the soldiers have proved it”, he said.

There were only agents of the National Democratic Congress and New Patriotic Party at the station and they were seen seated calmly monitoring the exercise.

At Odumase in Sunyani West, voting was very slow and as at 1030 hours only 20 out of 70 names on the list had voted.

There was no queue at the time GNA visited the polling station and the election officials, a police officer, NDC and NPP representatives were seen patiently observing the voting.

Mr. Martin Inkumsah, a returning officer, disclosed that no incident had been recorded, saying only some parliamentary observers who came to the station were asked to produce their accreditations before they could be recognized. He said the names in the list may increase by the end of the polls because election officials, like the presiding officers and assistants who could not go to their polling stations to vote were allowed to register and take part in the special voting exercise.

Source: GNA - Ghana News Agency