Voter arrested at Zebilla for allegedly taking pictures of ballot paper

The Zebilla Police Command in the Bawku West District of the Upper East Region has arrested a 36-year-old voter Daniel Avoka for allegedly taking pictures of his ballot paper after casting his ballot at the Zebilla polling station.

The suspect was arrested by a police officer immediately after taking a shot of his ballot for another purpose at the Zebilla SHS polling station.

Speaking to Citi News, Zebilla District Police Commander, Superintendent Adam Ahmed Mohammed said the suspect is in police custody for questioning.

“The issue is that at about 7:30 am, one suspect by the name Avoka Daniel, aged about 36 took a picture of his ballot paper after voting. So the policeman on duty noticed the act and arrested him. He then informed the Rapid response team.”

“We then took him to the police cells. We are doing preliminary investigations at the moment. We will then carry out appropriate charges,” he added.

A similar incident has been reported in Shama in the Western Region where a young man in his early twenties was arrested by a Police Officer at Shama DA Forecourt B polling station.

He is currently in the grips of the Shama Police Station undergoing questioning.

Director of Electoral Services at the EC, Dr. Serebour Quaicoe prior to the elections cautioned against the act.

“An individual commits an offence by telling others the party he voted for and sharing photos of ballot papers as it breaches the secrecy of the ballot. If you finish and you tell people who you voted for, that is fine but it is an offence for you to take photos of it and be showing it to people. It breaches the secrecy of the ballot. In the view of the law you can be arrested,” he said.

The EC is confident that the results of the general elections will be declared within 24 hours.

— citinewsroom