EC takes voter education to churches

The Western Regional Directorate of the Electoral Commission (EC) has taken its public education to churches to create awareness on voting processes and other related activities.

At the Takoradi branch of the Pentecost International Worship Centre, Madam Effe Wilson, Takoradi District Officer of the EC, spoke about personal, proxy, and special voting as the types of voting.

She said the voter exhibition exercise before the elections provided the electorate the opportunity to verify their details and ask for corrections to be made where necessary, adding that it was an important aspect of the election process.

Madam Wilson took the members through the folding of ballot papers after thumb-printing and said: “folding should be done vertically to avoid spoiling of the ballot paper or rejection”.

She said a registered voter who is a student or a member of the security services on special duties in a constituency other than that in which he/she registered, may apply to the returning officer to be included in the Transferred Voters List to enable him or her to vote.

She touched on Proxy voting procedures and said a registered voter who, due to ill-health or absence from the constituency, hence would be unable to vote on the polling day, may apply to the returning officer of the constituency or the EC for the name of the selected proxy to be entered into the Proxy List.

“As such, the applicant shall complete a proxy form in quadruplicate. The proxy form will be endorsed by the returning officer and a copy will be given to the said applicant,” she said.

Madam Wilson explained that internal transfers were the transferring of one’s vote from one polling centre to another within the same constituency or district, adding that it was not allowed because it tended to put some candidates at a disadvantage.

She reiterated the need to guard the peace of the country by preaching peace and cautiously pursuing it.

"It is an offence to remain at the polling centre after voting….After going through the voting process leave the centre and go home. But you may come later to monitor the counting of the ballot papers,” she said.

Madam Wilson advised the electorate to get to the polling centre on time to exercise their franchise and urged them to feel free to ask for clarifications on any issue of concern from the returning officer.