EC fails to pay its officials recruited for December 17, 2019 DLE
Information available to Plus233 News as at Tuesday, 17th March, 2020 indicates that the Electoral Commission of Ghana under the leadership of Mrs. Jean Mensa has failed to pay its officials recruited for the December 17, 2019 District Assembly and Unit Committee Elections conducted to elect Assembly Members and Unit Committee Members across the Country.
Today, Tuesday, 17th March, 2020 marks exactly three months the District Level Elections (DLE) were conducted but EC couldn’t pay its officials their allowances.
It was believed that, the Electoral Commission of Ghana recruited over 159,255 officials nationwide to work within a total of 31,851 polling stations across the country, with more than 38,000 candidates contesting.
Even the Electoral Commission admitted the fact that, organizing an election, which involved in excess of 50,000 candidates, cannot be an easy task, especially, when you have to match pictures and names within a short space of time, but failed to pay its officials who assisted in a successful election.
The efforts of these officials, have contributed positively to EC’s ranking in a report published by the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) rating EC at 93.3 percent of polling stations in the just ended DLEs were accessible to PWDs and the elderly.
Also, Mr. Albert Arhin, the National Coordinator of CODEO, in a signed statement, said the Coalition also observed that there were candidates’ agents present in 92.4 percent of polling stations, its observers visited.
It added that 92.8 percent of the polling stations were set up in a manner that ensured voters could mark their ballots in secret.
CODEO observers were allowed to observe the elections at all polling stations by poll officials.
All these successes were reached in collaboration with officials at each polling stations.
It was also reported that, some of these officials the Electoral Commission failed to pay have spent their own monies in the course of the Elections, yet the EC couldn’t pay their allowances.
In the midst of all these, it was reported that, the Electoral Commission of Ghana had advertised vacancies for eligible people to apply. Some of the newly applicants were believed to be some of the officials recruited for the December 17, 2019 elections EC failed to pay.
Facts gathered by Coverghana.com media team revealed that, EC has arranged interviews for selected applicants ahead of the New Voters’ Register Compilation, Exhibition of Voters’ Register and the 2020 General Elections but couldn’t pay its officials.
Some officials who brought the issue to the attention of Coverghana.com indicated that, there is no sign of hope as to when the Electoral Commission shall pay them their allowances for the December 17, 2010 District Level Elections.
One of the affected officials interviewed by Coverghana.com who mentioned his name as Asare Boateng Frafrahini said, they are giving EC up to Friday, 20th March, 2020 as a matter of urgency pay the allowances of all officials, or they shall hit the street to openly register their dissatisfaction in the Electoral Commission of Ghana.
Source: Coverghana
