The Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana has disclosed that political parties rejected its proposal to close polling stations at 3 p.m. on election day, as opposed to the traditional 5 p.m.
Dr. Serebour Quaicoe, the EC’s Director of Training, revealed this during a seminar hosted by the Institute for Democratic Governance.
The seminar, themed “EC Procedures for Electoral Disputes and Publication of Election Results,” addressed various aspects of the electoral process.
Dr Quaicoe explained that the proposal to end polling by 3 p.m. was motivated by a desire to reduce late-night collation of results, which has been a source of confusion and delays in past elections.
The EC had sought to advance the closure time to streamline the counting process and minimize potential issues that arise late in the evening.
“We had proposed closing polls by 3 p.m. to alleviate the problems that often occur at night,” Dr. Quaicoe said.
“Our rationale was that confusion generally increases as the day progresses. With the new limit of 750 voters per polling station—up from previous thresholds—the counting process should be quicker and more manageable.”
He noted that in previous elections, some polling stations were overloaded with up to 2,000 voters.
The threshold was adjusted to 749 in 2020 and has since been set at 750 to ensure a smoother process.
Dr Quaicoe anticipated that with this new limit, polling station results could be finalized by 5 p.m., leaving only the task of transmitting results.
However, the proposal was met with resistance during consultations with political parties. According to Dr Quaicoe, the parties advised against altering the established closing time for the upcoming elections.
“The parties felt that for this year, we should maintain the existing law,” he said.
The rejection of the early closing proposal means that polling stations will continue to close at 5 p.m., as customary.
The EC remains committed to ensuring an efficient and transparent election process while addressing concerns raised by stakeholders.
