Will EC Use Ballot Boxes?

By William Yaw Owusu

Friday, 25 August 2006
AN Accra Fast Track High Court will on August 28, decide whether or not the Electoral Commission (EC) can use its ballot boxes for the District Assembly elections slated for September 12.

This is because there are ballot papers of the 2004 elections in the boxes, which are at the centre of a legal battle between three National Democratic Congress (NDC) officials and the EC over the declaration of the 2004 presidential elections.

The three, Rojo Mettle Nunoo, Squadron Leader Clend Sowu (rtd) and Kofi Portuphy, last year filed the suit for an order to compel the EC among other things to declare the 2004 Presidential Election results polling station-by-polling station under the President-elect Instrument.

The court, presided over by Mr. Justice Victor Ofoe, then ordered that the EC should not destroy the ballots until the final determination of the matter, part of which is currently before the Supreme Court for constitutional interpretation.

But with the District Assembly election about two weeks away the EC yesterday filed a motion on notice for variation of the injunction order to enable the commission to use the boxes for the upcoming electoral exercise.

Moving the motion, E.O. Armah, counsel for the E.C. said in view of the extensive nature of the District Assembly elections the ballot boxes containing the ballot papers of the December 7, 2004 elections will be required for use by the E.C.

"Out of abundance of caution, the E.C. deems it necessary to seek directions from the court as to where the ballot papers should be kept after they have been removed from the boxes," he said.

He told the court that what the E.C. intended to do would not in any way tamper with the ballot papers which under law were being kept in sealed up packets with relevant documentation under Regulation 44 of he E.C’s regulation, 1996 C1.15.

"The E.C. has real need to use all the ballot boxes which were used for both Presidential and Parliamentary elections since in the District Assembly elections there are two levels or contests similar to that of the Presidential and Parliamentary elections," he said.

Mr. Armah said the E.C. requires a total for 42,000 ballot boxes to be able to conduct the exercise adding that "the law only requires ballot papers and other documents to be kept by the E.C. and not ballot boxes".

He said the transparent boxes are specially designed for use in public elections and it will be impossible for the E.C. to obtain an alternate supply of those boxes for the upcoming exercise.

Therefore the sealed packets should be stored in any safe location as the court may direct.

The E.C’s affidavit was deposed to by Mr. Kwadwo Sarfo Kantanka, the Deputy Chairman in charge of Operations.

Responding to the motion, Tony Lithur counsel for the three NDC members said "the E.C’s application is vague, and gives little detail about the real needs of the Commission and assumes that the E.C. has a right to tamper with the ballot papers by removing them from the boxes."

Mr. Lithur said the present suit touches on governance issues and therefore the integrity of the ballot boxes and other electoral material should be preserved in the manner dictated by the injunction order of December 14, last year.

"We believe the defendants should have been able to make arrangement for the district level elections that will not undermine the sanctity of the initial orders of the court", he said.

He argued that should the E.C. "insist on the removal of the ballot papers from the ballot boxes, thereby tampering with it, then the plaintiffs would propose that the ballot boxes be counted under proper supervision and in the presence of the plaintiffs or their representatives before being stored".

Counsel added. "We want additional security to replace the current one as the E.C. seeks to use the boxes".