EC to complete all Assembly elections in 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 93the 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, 93We 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.