Reducing voting duration not the best - NDC tells EC

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has told the Electoral Commission (EC) to reconsider its plans to review the duration allowed for voters to cast their ballot during general election.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of an ECOWAS-UN Workshop on Tuesday, the EC Chair, Jean Mensah said the decision will help election officials to collate results before dark as compared to previous years.

“The commission will discuss the idea of reducing the duration of the voting from 7 am to 4 pm to allow for the counting and coalition of results well before dark.”

This Deputy General Secretary of the NDC, Peter Boamah Otukunor, speaking to Citi News says this is not the best option that the EC must take and they should explore more sophisticated measures to quicken the polls.

“How can you suggest that [because] people stay in the queue after 5 pm the best way to solve it is to reduce the time for voting?”

“We should look at more sophisticated ways of quickening the voting process so that the voting process will not be cumbersome so that people can vote quickly, rather than reducing the time.”

Meanwhile, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Director of Elections, Evans Nimako welcomed the move on behalf of his party.

“I think for us at the New Patriotic Party, this would be welcoming news because it is important that the management of election day voting activity is looked into properly. However, it also critical that the Electoral Commission will extend the consultation so they should come to the platform for stakeholders to have their input.”

But he called on the EC to consult stakeholders on the matter.