Special voting to be held on December 5

Ghana's Electoral Commission (EC) will conduct special voting on December 5 for officials with electoral duties that would prevent them from voting where they registered.

The special voting will be for security officers, election officials and other persons permitted to vote early upon application. An EC official told the Ghana News Agency in Accra that there are two categories of special voters - those on duty outside their constituency and those outside their polling station but within the constituency.

Those on duty outside their constituencies will be allowed to vote on the special voting day. The second group will be given a special certificate that allows them to vote at the polling station where they will be on duty.

During the 1996 election special voting was held on December 3, ahead of the election on December 7. The EC official said the voter's superior officer must submit an application not later than seven days before December 7 to the returning officer in the voter's constituency.

However, a superior officer can send a list of voters to an EC Regional Director indicating those who will be on duty on polling day at places other than where they registered. The list must indicate the voter's name, I. D. card number and the polling station where the applicant registered.

The EC official said upon the processing of documents by the EC, one polling station will be designated in each constituency for special voting on December 5 and qualified applicants will be notified by the EC where they can vote.

On the custody of ballot boxes for special voting, the official said the ballots cast will not be counted immediately after the poll, but will be kept under guard by the police in secure rooms at police stations.

He said counting of ballots cast in the special voting would be done alongside the votes cast on election day in the presence of candidates or their agents. The results of the count should be recorded separately on the Declaration of Results form and marked "special vote."

The official said that some registered voters might appoint proxies to vote for them by completing a form designed for that purpose. This facility is extended to voters who can prove they will be absent from the country on election day and persons who are bed-ridden.

A voter who has applied for the proxy cannot vote on election day. The proxy may be cancelled if the conditions for the applications change.