Ghana

Electoral Commission Stops Use Of Indelible Ink During Elections Because Of Biometric Technology

Wednesday, December 20, 2023 at 11:46 AM by Delali Adogla-Bessa

The Electoral Commission has said it plans to end the use of indelible ink during elections to check double voting
The Electoral Commission's chairperson said the move from the use of indelible ink is because of the existence of biometric technology
The Electoral Commission earlier proposed closing polls during the 2024 election at 3pm instead of 5pm

PAY ATTENTION: We Need your Opinion! What do You Think about this Website? Take 5-min Poll and Make YEN Better Now.

The Electoral Commission has said it will stop the use of indelible ink to check double voting during elections.

The Electoral Commission chair, Jean Mensa, said the move from using indelible ink is because of the security of biometric technology.

EC ends use of indelible ink — Electoral Commission chairperson, Jean Mensa. Source: Facebook/Ghana Police Service
Source: Getty Images

Mensa believes the adoption of biometric technology has made it impossible to vote twice.

“The biometric technology makes it difficult for a person who has been verified and cast their vote to come a second time. So there is no need for indelible ink.”

New closing time for elections

In another change, the Electoral Commission has proposed closing polls at 3pm instead of 5pm during the 2024 election.

The Commission said it would cut dowing voting times by creating additional polling centres.

The new proposal was revealed at an inter-party dialogue hosted by the National Peace Council in Accra.

Electoral Commission gets almost GH¢800m budget for election year

The Electoral Commission has been allocated GH¢782,558,024 for the 2024 election year.

The allocation for the Commission was contained in the 2024 budget made public by the Ministry of Finance.

The Electoral Commission got a similar allocation of GH¢712,893,954 for the 2020 election year.

Akosombo Dam spillage victims to get special treatment

The Electoral Commission said the Akosombo Dam spillage victims can vote without their voter ID during the district-level election, which happened on Tuesday, December 19, 2023, across 38,622 polling stations.