The Electoral Commission (EC) has urged the public to disregard a viral video allegedly showing ballot box stuffing during the Ejisu by-election.
Samuel Tettey, Deputy Chairman of Operations at the EC, clarified that the video is unrelated to the EC’s activities or the mentioned by-election.
To debunk its authenticity, the EC pointed out discrepancies: the individual in the video wears a green vest, while EC staff wear blue; another person wears an orange vest, not consistent with EC attire.
Additionally, the location depicted differs from EC’s typical open-space polling stations.
The EC underscores the importance of verifying information before drawing conclusions and reassures the public of its commitment to transparent and fair electoral processes.
The EC outlined the following aspects to discredit the video’s credibility:
1. The vest the Ghana Electoral Commission uses for its operations is blue. The official in the video is wearing a green vest. The second person seen in the video is wearing an orange vest. As stated, the Electoral Commission of Ghana uses a blue vest for its Operation Staff.
2. The Electoral Commission of Ghana’s Polling Stations are cited in open spaces but the Polling Station in the video is in an enclosed area.
3. Each Polling Station at Ejisu had at least Six Police Officers in addition to the Agents of the Candidates. This is not the case in the video being circulated.
4. All the ballot boxes of the Electoral Commission of Ghana are labelled according to the name and code of each Polling Station. The labels are boldly pasted on the ballot box. The ballot box in the video is not labelled.
5. Each Polling Station in Ejisu had only one ballot box. Two ballot boxes are displayed in the video.
6. The inscription on the vest worn by the man in the video is not in the English language. That of the Electoral Commission of Ghana is in the English language.
The EC called on the public to ignore the video, emphasizing its aim to smear the reputation and credibility of Ghana’s Electoral Commission.
The depicted events did not take place in Ghana and are entirely unrelated to the EC.
They also advised the public to verify information directly with the Commission to combat misinformation and disinformation prevalent in today’s era.
Additionally, the EC reaffirmed its dedication to conducting credible, fair, peaceful, and transparent elections in 2024.
