EC to complete all Assembly elections in 2010

December 30, 2010
Tamale, Dec. 30, GNA - The Electoral Commission would complete the ongoing District Assembly Elections across the country before the end of 2010 to ensure that "the circle of the Assemblies does not change".

Mr David Adeenze Kangah, Deputy Chairman for Finance and Administration, made this known to the GNA in Tamale, on Wednesday, said the EC would complete all the assembly elections across the country in conformity with the circle of the Assemblies saying, "We are pushing everything in 2010".

He said the EC could have shifted the elections to January 2011 but noted that, that would change the circle of the Assemblies Elections for the future, adding that, the elections would be completed by Friday.

He said if the counting of the ballot stretches into 2011, it would still not defeat the circle of the elections, since the elections were conducted in 2010, and that, the date it was conducted will be used instead of when it was declared.

Asked about the current problems confronting the EC, concerning the different dates of the Assemblies elections, Mr Kangah said what was happening was nothing new to elections globally, adding that, even in some jurisdictions, elections could take one month to complete.

Mr Kangah, who is also in-charge of supervising elections in the Northern and Upper East Regions, said the two regions would take their turn on Thursday 30th December, and that most of the materials for the elections had arrived.

He said he would ensure that all the electoral areas in the Northern and Upper East get their ballot papers for tomorrow's elections.

He explained that the Assemblies and the Unit Committee elections were independent of each other and there was nothing wrong in conducting them separately and appealed to the general public to exercise patience.

Mr Kangah said the EC's plans to conduct the Assembly and Unit Committee elections was delayed by the late passage of the new legislations on the district assemblies and the ballot papers, which were not completed on time.

He explained that the EC contracted seven printing houses to print the ballot papers in two weeks but the printing houses failed to meet the deadline due to the comprehensive process associated with the printing.

Mr Kangah said although financial constraint had contributed to the current predicament of the EC, it was not the major cause, as several factors were involved.

He cautioned the media to refrain from sensationalizing the ongoing elections but to help the EC to educate the general public, to deepen the country's democracy, saying that, Ghana is still a pace-setter in democracy on the continent.

GNA