The Electoral Commission (EC) has withdrawn its decision to ban indelible ink from use in the general elections scheduled for 2024 in response to harsh criticism from various parties, including the National Democratic Congress (NDC), which is in opposition.
The Deputy EC Chairman overseeing Corporate Services, Dr. Eric Asare Bossman, expressed worry about the issues brought up by members of civil society, lawmakers, the public, and political parties.
In an interview with Joy FM, he stated, “After listening to the discussions, we have heard the concerns of the general public, we have heard the parliamentarians, we have heard the concerns of the NPP and the NDC and civil society members so we have concluded that if by using the ink people will have more trust in the process, why not?”.
Dr. Bossman explained that the original goal was to do away with the need for double verification during the voting procedure.
He noted, “Last year we noted that we thought when you look at the procedures in our elections the idea of using the indelible ink is like you are using two layers for verification.
“The Commission said if Mr Evans Mensah is coming to vote, then Mr Evans Mensah will be verified electronically for us to know that indeed Mr Mensah has been verified so when you want to go ahead to use the indelible ink then clearly you don’t have confidence in your biometric register so as a result of that we suggested that it will be better if we do away with the ink.”
