The Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana is conducting a special voting exercise today, Thursday, 5th December 2024, in the Eastern and Western regions, ahead of the general elections scheduled for 7th December.

This exercise was rescheduled after being initially planned for Monday, 2nd December 2024. The postponement was announced by the EC during an emergency Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting on Sunday, 1st December.

This followed the discovery of a defaced ballot paper, marked for destruction, outside the Checkpoint Printing House. This raised concerns about the integrity of the materials.

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While no issues were reported with the ballot papers for the Western Region, the same printing press that handled the Eastern Region’s ballots was responsible for those in the West.

As a precautionary measure, the EC decided to recall and reprint the ballot papers for both regions.

The reprinted materials were delivered to the two regions on Wednesday, 4th December, ensuring that everything was in place for today’s voting exercise.

EC Chairperson Jean Mensa assured all stakeholders that measures had been taken to maintain the transparency and integrity of the process.

The special voting exercise, which was held in 14 other regions on 2nd December, allows designated groups such as elected officials, security personnel, and media practitioners, who will be on duty on election day, to cast their votes in advance.