News › Special Report       28.12.2018

Codeo Preliminary Findings On Observation Of The December 27, 2018 Referendum

On Thursday, December 27, 2018, the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) deployed fifty (50) observers to various districts and constituencies in selected regions within which the referendum on the proposed creation of additional regions was taking place. CODEO observers visited an average of four (4) polling stations within their assigned districts in the course of the polling exercise. Observers spent between an hour and two hours at each polling station visited. Overall, the referendum took place in a calm and peaceful electoral environment. However, a number of electoral anomalies were recorded by CODEO Observers during the observation exercise. These anomalies raise serious questions about the integrity and credibility of the polling process in the observed polling stations.

Summary of Findings


Below are key findings from CODEO's observation:

Below are some of the polling stations where such high turn-out figures were observed at the end of voting:

Name of Polling Station District/Constituency Region Turn-out Rate

SDA Primary School, Jasikan

Jasikan Volta 99.7%
CMB Shed 'A', Asawinso Sefwi Wiawso Western 99.3%
Adankpa Palace, Adankpa Krachi West Volta 99.3%
PPAG Office Techiman South Brong Ahafo 98%
Naseiya Prim Sch, Salaga East Gonja Northern 97%

CODEO also noted similar patterns of extremely high voter turn-out figures from the official constituency collated results, including up to 98.5% voter turn-out at some constituencies. These include Salaga South, (96%), Nkoranza North (97%), Jasikan (97%), and Krachi West (98.5%). A lot more constituencies had turn-out figures of more than 90%.

Below are some examples of polling stations where such high numbers of manual verification were observed:

Name of Polling Station Region Total Valid Votes Cast Total of Manual Verification Percentage of Voters Manually Verified
R/C JHS, Dambai, Krachi East

Volta

710

415

58%

PPAG Office, Techiman, Techiman South

Brong Ahafo

439

241

55%

SDA Prim School, Jasikan

Volta

311

163

52%

CMB Shed 'A', Asawinso, Sefwi Wiawso

Western

703

364

52%

Naseiya Primary, Salaga, East Gonja

Northern

433

208

48%

SDA Primary, Nkonya Nchumuru, Biakoye

Volta

437

202

46%

Ampoma L/A JHS, Kintampo South

Brong Ahafo

277

153

36%

At other polling stations, however, the percentage of voters manually-verified ranged from as low as 0% to 5%.

Other Matters


Recommendations:

Signed:

Albert Arhin,
National Coordinator, CODEO
Dated: Friday, December 28, 2018

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