The Deputy Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), Dr. Bossman Asare, has says the trending issue of ballot paper shortfalls in the Volta region for the December 7 elections has been over-exaggerated.

The Commission had earlier reported a shortage of Presidential and Parliamentary ballot papers for five constituencies in the Volta region. The affected constituencies were Keta, Ketu North, Ho Central, Hohoe, and Ho West.

The Commission stated that it had swiftly moved to address the issue and planned to print additional ballots at Acts Commercial Printing House. Meanwhile, some Ghanaians, especially members of opposition parties, have questioned the credibility of the electoral process.

According to Dr. Bossman, despite the shortfall, it does not mean the EC has failed in its duties.

“What happened in the Volta region is not unprecedented in the history of the Commission’s work,” he said on Newsfile on Joy News on Saturday, November 30.

He also added that the Volta region was not the only one affected. “In this election, we have about seven or eight regions that have experienced shortfalls,” he explained, adding that "In this Country, we turn to exaggerate matters".

Dr. Bossman further stated that the shortfall was nothing to be worried about, as it is a normal occurrence in every election year.

“I think we had shortages in Greater Accra, Western North, and Upper West, and it's normal; it is part of the process. Since 1992, even in 2020, when we printed the ballots, there were shortfalls,” he emphasised.

He attributed the situation to the workload of the Commission, saying, “In this election, we printed almost 19 million ballot papers for the presidential election, 19 million for the parliamentary", hence, it is possible that a shortfall can occur.

The shortfall in ballot papers is the second major issue the EC has faced in this year’s elections. Earlier, the Commission identified an error in the serialisation of ballot papers for the Volta and Ahafo regions.