{"id":242370,"date":"2016-08-23T19:19:24","date_gmt":"2016-08-23T19:19:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=242370"},"modified":"2016-08-23T19:19:24","modified_gmt":"2016-08-23T19:19:24","slug":"over-voting-no-longer-tied-to-number-of-registered-voters-ec","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2016\/08\/over-voting-no-longer-tied-to-number-of-registered-voters-ec\/","title":{"rendered":"Over-voting ‘no longer tied’ to number of registered voters – EC"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Electoral Commission (EC) has said that it has redefined \u2018over- voting\u2019 in elections, explaining that it would have nothing to do with the number of people in the voters\u2019 register ahead of the polls in December.<\/p>\n
According to the EC, over voting would be declared only when the number of ballots collated is more than the verified voters, and would no longer be associated with the number of persons on the voters’ roll.<\/p>\n
[contextly_sidebar id=”ErEhxHGpgdxeEIdPERRCZLMFawI8m4JY”]\u201cWe\u2019ve agreed with IPAC [to amend] the definition of over-voting. Basically, over voting is not tied to the number of voters on the register. Over voting would occur when the number of valid votes exceeds the number of people who have been verified to vote,\u201d the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Charlotte Osei explained at an Editors\u2019 Forum on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
“<\/strong>When we combine those who were biometrically verified and those who were manually verified and the number of ballots exceeds it, we know we have had over voting. So the number of persons on the register is no longer tied to the definition of over voting but we\u2019ve reduced the numbers just to ensure that we have an easier and more efficient electoral process.”<\/b><\/p>\n Over-voting was one of the contentious\u00a0issues raised by the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) during the 2012 election petition.<\/p>\n The NPP had disputed the EC’s definition of over-voting as they challenged the validity of the election results.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n EC announces reforms\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The EC also announced that, it had begun implementing a series of reforms<\/strong><\/span><\/a> aimed at improving the transparency, inclusiveness and credibility of the upcoming Presidential and Parliamentary elections in December.<\/p>\n The comprehensive list of reforms, (27 in number), was the product of a Special Reform Committee set up by the EC after the 2012 Election Petition.<\/p>\n The Committee was tasked to synthesize the various reforms proposed by the panel of Justices of the Supreme Court and political parties. Membership of the Committee included representatives of the political parties, governance institutions and Civil Society Organisations.<\/p>\n The 27 reform proposals which were accepted and are being implemented by the EC are as follows:<\/p>\n The Commission is of the view that, the implementation of this comprehensive list of reforms, will make the outcome of the 2016 elections credible and acceptable to all the stakeholders involved.<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n By: Sixtus Don Ullo and Edwin Kwakofi\/citifmonline.com\/Ghana<\/p>\n Follow @ sixtus_gh <\/a>\u00a0and Follow @EdKwakofi<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Electoral Commission (EC) has said that it has redefined \u2018over- voting\u2019 in elections, explaining that it would have nothing to do with the number of people in the voters\u2019 register ahead of the polls in December. According to the EC, over voting would be declared only when the number of ballots collated is more […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":209760,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2647,2648,10,11],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n