EC dismisses viral video alleging ballot box stuffing

The Electoral Commission (EC) has urged the public to disregard a viral video allegedly depicting a man stuffing a ballot box.

Reports on social media indicate that the incident was recorded during the recent by-election at Ejisu.

But Samuel Tettey, the Deputy Chairman of Operations at the EC in a statement clarified that the video in question is not related to the EC’s activities or the Ejisu by-election.

To debunk the video’s authenticity, the EC highlighted that the official in the video is seen wearing a green vest, while the commission uses blue vests for its operations.

The EC adds that another person in the video is wearing an orange vest, which is not consistent with the attire worn by EC staff. According to the EC, the location depicted in the video shows a polling station in an enclosed area, whereas the Commission typically conducts polling stations in open spaces.

The EC emphasised the importance of verifying information before concluding and assured the public of its commitment to transparency and fairness in electoral processes.

The EC highlighted the following points to disprove the video’s authenticity:

1. The vest the Ghana Electoral Commission uses for its operations is blue. The official in the video is wearing a green vest. The second person seen in the video is wearing an orange vest. As stated, the Electoral Commission of Ghana uses a blue vest for its Operation Staff.

2. The Electoral Commission of Ghana’s Polling Stations are cited in open spaces but the Polling Station in the video is in an enclosed area.

3. Each Polling Station at Ejisu had at least Six Police Officers in addition to the Agents of the Candidates. This is not the case in the video being circulated.

4. All the ballot boxes of the Electoral Commission of Ghana are labelled according to the name and code of each Polling Station. The labels are boldly pasted on the ballot box. The ballot box in the video is not labelled.

5. Each Polling Station in Ejisu had only one ballot box. Two ballot boxes are displayed in the video.

6. The inscription on the vest worn by the man in the video is not in the English language. That of the Electoral Commission of Ghana is in the English language.

“We urge the public to disregard the video. It is aimed at tarnishing the image and credibility of Ghana’s Electoral Commission. The events in the video did not occur in Ghana. It has nothing to do with the Electoral Commission of Ghana.

“In this era of misinformation and disinformation, we entreat the public to cross-check information with the Commission to ascertain the truth.

“… As a Commission, we remain committed to delivering credible, fair, peaceful and transparent elections in 2024,” the statement added.