The Electoral Commission (EC) is considering reviewing the
voting duration downwards ahead of the 2020 elections to improve the security
of the polls.
At the opening ceremony of an ECOWAS-UN Workshop, the EC Chair, Jean Mensah
said: “The commission will discuss the idea of reducing the duration of the
voting from 7 am to 4 pm to allow for the counting and coalition of results
well before dark.”
Currently, polls start at 7 am and end and close at 5 pm. The casting of
ballots may continue hours after the close of polls depending on the number of
persons who were already waiting in the queue.
The EC chair said the commission had observed that a lot of voters wait till
the last hour to join the voting queues.
The late resolution of voting and the casting of ballots, which poses “grave
danger to the security of ballots and the safety of electoral officers” is a
major concern for the commission, Mrs. Mensah stated.
“As a commission, we are not only keen to ensure a peaceful and conducive
voting environment but we are keen to guarantee the security of the ballot and
make every vote count. In this regard, one of the issues that has occupied our
mind is the duration of voting.”
“Ultimately, we believe that this will lead to the early declaration of results
and help to reduce the tensions and suspicions that manifest during the waiting
period.”
The workshop was on sharing experiences and global practices on the prevention
and mitigation of election-related violence.
Electoral Commission to consider a review of the voting duration ahead of 2020 elections.
