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Bawumia Vindicated On Over-Voting - As EC Abandons ‘Classical Definition’

By Daily Statesman
General News Dr Mahamudu Bawumia
AUG 24, 2016 LISTEN
Dr Mahamudu Bawumia

Three years after insisting at the Supreme Court, together with the National Democratic Congress, that over-voting was not when the total number of ballots cast is more than the total number of voters verified to vote, the Electoral Commission of Ghana has finally made a U-turn to accept the definition provided by Mahamudu Bawumia during the 2012 Presidential Election Petition.

The earlier definition, as vehemently defended by the EC, then led by Dr Afari-Gyan, and the NDC, represented by its General Secretary, Asiedu Nketiah, was that if “the TOTAL number of votes cast, including Rejected Ballots, was MORE than the total number of REGISTERED VOTERS, then there is over voting.”

The main difference is that Asiedu Nketiah and Dr Afari-Gyan were using the total number of voters on the register while Dr Bawumia was using the total number of VERIFIED voters as the first type of over-voting.

“I think I am not too clear in my own mind what the connotation of over-vote is .My Lord, I have a problem with any definition which limits over-voting exclusively to what is on the face of the pink sheet. Classical definition of over voting is where ballots cast exceed the number of voters eligible to vote at the polling stations or on the biometric register,” Dr Kwadwo Afari Gyan stated on June 3, 2013.

That definition was given in obvious support of the position of Johnson Asiedu Nketia, which was espoused on May 23, 2013: “My Lord, I’m saying this because we have come to know over-voting to mean an occurrence where the number of votes found in the ballot box exceeds the number of people who are entitled to vote at that polling station.”

But speaking to a group of editors yesterday, Chairperson of the EC, Charlotte Osei, disclosed that for the upcoming elections, the total number of registered voters would not be part of the equation for calculating over-voting, as the NDC, supported by the EC, had insisted during the election petition.

"This means that if the total number of votes in the ballot box plus the spoilt ballot is more than the total number of verified voters then there is OVER VOTING," Mrs Osei stated.

She indicated that this was part of the ongoing electoral reforms the commission is embarking on, following the recommendations from the Supreme Court’s decision after the 2012 Presidential Election Petition.

The definition of over-voting was a major issue during the Election Petition, with the NDC and EC combining to condemn the definition provided by the Petitioners on over-voting for which they presented over 1,700 Pink sheets to support their case that there were polling stations where the total number of voters verified was less than the total ballots in the ballot box at the end of the day and for which they needed to be annulled as the laws mandated.

Due to the confusion that arose over the definition, the Supreme Court was unable to come up with an acceptable definition for over-voting and based on that rejected the Petitioners case on the matter.

It is interesting how the nation has come full-cycle to now accept the definition, which for many was the obvious one but deliberately disputed to suit the case of the EC and the NDC.

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