DLE: Ablekuma North Presiding Officer calls for enhanced security before counting

Voting at the McCarthy Hill JHS Polling Station at the Ablekuma North District in the Greater Accra Region was temporarily halted due to disagreements between the Electoral Commission officials and the agents of the various aspirants. For more than twenty minutes, the agents and the EC officials could not reach consensus on where the agents should stand and observe the process. More than 20 agents crowded the voting area, with each preferring to stand at the same area where the electoral officers were, a position the EC officials said would interfere with their work. Some of the agents stood in the same queue with voters while others stood behind the voting boots, where the EC officials again objected. Two fire officers assigned to ensure law and order at the Centre had a tough time containing the movements of the agents, who outnumber the security personnel and the EC officials. Mr Ibrahim Addo, the Presiding Officer, expressed concern about the posture of the polling agents, and expressed fear that vo ting and counting could be disrupted if security was not improved at the Centre. 'The agents are not cooperating with us. It is making our work difficult. Having two fire officers here is not enough to contain the situation,' he said. Four polling stations have been created at the McCarthy Hill JHS to speed up the voting process. Voting at the Centre commenced at about 08:30 hours due to late arrival of electoral materials. Some of the agents accused the EC of 'creating apprehension' with the late start of polls. They said the EC had also failed to designate a place for the agents where they could monitor proceedings and ensure that the voting process was free and fair. The total number of expected voters at all the four polling centres at the McCarthy Hill JHS is 2,525. As of 10:00 hours the total number of persons who had cast their vote stood at 60. Source: Ghana News Agency