The Electoral Commission (EC) has given the green light for voting to be extended beyond the 5:00 pm deadline in the Bantama and Tamale North constituencies in the Ashanti and Northern regions respectively.
This decision was made due to long queues in the two constituencies as of the time the polls should have officially ended.
A statement from the electoral management body indicated that the decision was taken to “ensure a seamless and orderly voting process in the affected polling stations”.
In the meantime, the EC has provided its officers at these centres with rechargeable lamps to ensure that voting continues without any further challenges.
Additional Biometric Verification Devices (BVDs) have also been made available to speed up the voting process.
“The Electoral Commission is aware that by the close of polls at 5:00 pm today, there were long queues in some polling stations within Bantama and Tamale North constituencies and, as such, voting is still ongoing,” the Commission’s statement noted.
According to the EC, it has also taken steps to ensure that voters in the two constituencies partake in the election amidst proper security measures.
“In addition, all officials on ground are working tirelessly and security has also been beefed up to ensure the process is peaceful and orderly. We assure the general public, especially the electorate in these constituencies that every voter will be allowed to cast their vote and that every vote will count”, the statement added.
