Special voting is underway across 14 of Ghana’s 16 regions, allowing security personnel, emergency service staff, Electoral Commission officials, and others to cast their ballots ahead of the December 7 general elections.
The Eastern and Western Regions will hold their special voting on Thursday, December 5, due to a ballot paper mishap that necessitated a recall and reprinting of materials.
With 131,478 eligible voters—representing 0.007% of the total voter population of 18.7 million—voting is taking place in 328 centres nationwide, running from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Reports from various constituencies indicate that voting largely started on time, with initial queues forming early in the day but subsiding as the exercise progressed.
In the Adentan constituency, 1,202 registered voters are expected to participate, with the process beginning promptly at 7:02 a.m.
Meanwhile, in the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency, voting was reported to be proceeding smoothly.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate, John Dumelo, expressed confidence in securing at least 60% of the votes, while the incumbent MP from the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Lydia Alhassan, was also present to observe the process.
However, minor challenges have been reported. At a polling centre in the Korle Klottey Constituency, two eligible voters—a journalist and a security officer—were turned away after discovering their names were missing from the voter list despite completing the registration process.
The Electoral Commission has been urged to address such discrepancies promptly to ensure a seamless voting process.
Soo far, the special voting exercise is proceeding peacefully, with stakeholders and political party agents closely monitoring the process.
