The Majority Leader in Parliament, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu wants the Electoral Commission (EC) to stick to the 5 pm end of polls schedule during general elections in order not to disenfranchise eligible voters.
The EC Chairperson, Jean Mensa while addressing participants at an inter-party dialogue and stock-taking conference organised by the National Peace Council in Accra last Thursday emphasised that the adjustment of the closing time for polls from 5 pm to 3 pm aims to facilitate the transparent and orderly collation of votes by electoral officers in broad daylight.
But the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu reacting to the proposal by the EC while debating the 2024 budget approval for the Electoral Commission, said the 5 pm schedule must be maintained.
“The attempt to reduce voting time from 5 pm to 3 pm again we should interrogate it. I believe it is too early for the EC to do it. [On Tuesday] when I went to vote, the materials had not been assembled yet even though I got there at 8:15, I had to stay until 9:20 to start voting, already two hours wasted.
“We didn’t have to bring the conclusion from 5 pm to 3 pm. Then the voters would have lost about four hours…So let’s all stick to the 5 pm of voting,” he said.
The Daily Searchlight says;
We agree with the suggestion that voting be brought to an end at 3.00 pm in the upcoming general election.
We say that all things being equal and well, there is no reason why voting should close at night, which would take sorting, counting and collating into the night, where all manner of strange things can happen.
Instead of closing at five pm, we suggest that the Electoral Commission (EC) open polling stations at six a.m., or not later than seven a.m., so that people can start voting early.
Additionally, the EC can establish more polling centres to reduce the average number of voters at each polling station. Additionally, polling stations should be sent closer to population centres to ease the plight of voters. These measures, coupled with enough public education, would ensure that all those wishing to vote arrive at polling stations early enough to vote with ease.
We call on those opposing the proposed time to bring forth progressive ideas on how this proposal can be achieved, instead of deploying negatives as to the reasons why such a progressive idea should not be implemented.
