ghananlpcommunity/ghana-gov-speeches-sentences huggingface dataset:
In spite of the fact that the figures are small, our aim is to reduce this drastically in the near future.
Yet another challenge that has been on the front burner of our discussions at the Commission is the perpetuation of the illegality of encouraging minors and foreigners to register as voters.
During the 2020 Exhibition Exercise, we went to great length by collaborating with opinion leaders and civil society at the grass root level to expunge the names of minors and foreigners from our register.
Very often fingers are pointed in our direction as if to say that the Commission registered the minors and foreigners but we need to take the time to identify the root cause of this phenomenon.
We must ask ourselves, “ na who cause am?”.
It is certainly not the Electoral Commission and its officials who cart illegal persons to the registration centres.
We need to re-look at our Laws and provide stringent sanctions for perpetuators of this illegality.
An exceedingly disturbing challenge was the violence in 4 centres, which led to the death of 7 citizens of our dear country.
Though the violence was not widespread, one life lost is a life too many and we say never again.
Here also there is the tendency for fingers to be pointed at the Electoral Commission when security is not the core mandate of the Electoral Commission.
I use this occasion to clarify that the Electoral Commission is not responsible for Election security.
The entire electoral process and its success rests on our shoulders but our mandate as entrenched in the Constitution does not include security.
We collaborate and partner with our security agencies in their quest to carry out their responsibility of ensuring peace, law, and order at all centres throughout the country.
We need to define clearly without a shadow of doubt whose responsibility it is to guarantee security on Election day and to place that responsibility on their shoulders.
Additionally, we need to provide laws to ensure that the perpetuators of the violence are dealt with decisively.
I take this opportunity to call upon the Police Service and the National Elections Task Force to speed up their investigations and bring the culprits to book.
The families of the victims, the citizens of Ghana, and the international community, are waiting for justice to be done.
Proposals Over the next two days, I hope that together we can propose measures to address these challenges.
Some proposals, which we will put forward for discussion are as follows.
We propose closing the polls at 3pm rather than 5pm.
In 2019, we announced our decision to close the polls at 3pm rather than 5pm, in the 2020 Elections.
Nonetheless, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and the stringent, and necessarily time-consuming safety protocols we instituted at our polling stations, we were compelled to put this proposal on hold.
Over the past months, however, this proposal has re-surfaced from various sections of the public, and indeed, our own experience from the 2020 Elections has revealed that it is a workable proposal, as by 1pm, most polling stations were empty, suggesting that this is a workable proposal.
Therefore, this is a reform we intend to put forward.
Again, we propose to do away with the system of periodic nationwide registration exercises, and institute an all-round system where citizens who turn 18, or persons who have not previously registered, may visit any district office with their Ghana Card or passport and register as voters.
This will help us do away with nationwide registration exercises and go a long way to reducing cost of elections.
We further propose a year-round exhibition system that will enable citizens check their registration details on their smart phones and other mobile devices.
Citizens would not need to wait for an exhibition exercise to check their details.
They will be able to do so, all year round.
We propose to build further efficiency into our collation process by focusing on data entry only at the Constituency Collation Centre.
The entry point for data capturing into the system will be at the Constituency Collation Centre.
The data i.e.
Constituency Collation Results will be made available to all stakeholders at the Regional and National levels.
Flowing from the data captured at the Constituency Collation Centre, the system will generate regional and national reports without further data entry at any of those levels.
By adopting this system, the problem of minor inaccuracies with the collation process and unnecessary delays will be reduced significantly.
Ladies and gentlemen, as you can see, we have much to discuss in the two days ahead of us.
However, it is discussions such as these that led to the successes I have enlisted above.
And so, I entreat that we enter the discussions with candidness, objectivity, and open-mindedness.
Indeed, if we could reduce the cost of our Elections from 13USD to 7.70USD and managed to save the nation a whopping 522 million Cedis while around us costs of elections are rising; if we could carry out our elections entirely with our own funds as a nation; if we could register an entire electorate in the space of 38 days, and if we could carry out our polls without lengthy queues and without a rise in Covid-19 cases, then there is little we cannot do, once we put our minds to it.
Yes, the task ahead is huge, but with unity of purpose, and with the good Lord firmly on our side, we will rise up to the challenge, and we will see the Electoral Commission, our electoral processes, and our next voting day, give us new cause to celebrate our own, homegrown electoral best practice.
May God bless our homeland Ghana and make our nation great and strong.
To God be all the glory, great things He has done, and greater things He will do.
On behalf of the Electoral Commission of Ghana, I welcome you to a significant moment in our country’s history: The Declaration of the Results of the 2020 Presidential Elections.
We had aimed at delivering the results 24 hours after the Election, but as the saying goes, man proposes, but God disposes.
We encountered a few challenges, including unexpected rains which halted voting in some polling stations leading to a few delays coupled with the usual requests for recounting in some polling stations.
We regret the anxiety caused and ask that you bear with us.
We hope that in subsequent elections we will be able to live up to our timeline.
I indicate that this is a historic election because this is the first time that the Election day went by without major incidents and occurrences.
It is no wonder that the BBC described this year’s election as “boring” - a testament to the seamless, incident-free process that we witnessed yesterday.
As a Commission, we thank the Almighty God for his faithfulness and for how far he has brought us.
We recognize without a shadow of doubt, that we could not have come this far without Him.
As Proverbs 21:31 states- “A horse is prepared for battle, but victory comes from God.”
We remain eternally grateful and thankful to God for the victories he has wrought on our behalf.
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, it is heartwarming to stand before you today to declare the results of the 2020 General Election.
We have come far.
We started this year with hope and promise - poised to reform and overhaul the core and critical aspects of our work, and the very system on which credible, transparent elections are hinged.
Here, I am referring to our Biometric Voter Management System.
We subjected this process to a robust and rigorous procurement process, even then as, from the very onset, we faced stiff opposition from within and without.
As if that was not enough, we were hit by the COVID-19 when we least expected it.
In the face of this, we remained resolute, determined to deliver credible, transparent and peaceful elections in Ghana.
We persevered throughout the lockdown to establish strong and efficient systems and processes that would stand the test of time.
With hindsight, we used the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown to our benefit.
We were able to reflect on our policies, systems and structures, and to implement reforms within our institution, promoting competitive procurement processes, as well as efficient, transparent electoral processes.
This strategy involved our entire staff, who all worked tirelessly behind the scenes, burning the midnight oil to achieve the results we witness today.
Our mantra was that while the country may be on lockdown, as a Commission, we had to keep moving forward to achieve the enormous tasks ahead of us.
And so distinguished ladies and gentlemen, here we are today.
The results are evident for all to see.
Indeed, hard work, determination and focus, coupled with God’s grace has paid off.
Today we have succeeded in reforming our entire Biometric Voter Management System, procuring and deploying robust equipment and devices including the Biometric Verification Devices, the biometric registration kits, a user-friendly software to govern the entire Biometric voter registration and verification system, and a brand-new data center amongst others - all of which went through an international competitive tendering process.
Today, we can all be proud of a brand-new Biometric Voter Register that reflects unique individuals who are eligible to vote.
With determination and focus, we were able to prepare a Register that recorded seventeen million and twenty-seven thousand, six hundred and forty-one (17,027,641) eligible voters in just 38 days in the rainy season of Ghana.
Thankfully, the just ended election did not witness issues of missing names, misplacement of polling stations among others.
Again, we can be proud of the fact that for the first time in our history, the election was funded without donor assistance.
I can assure you that we put our resources to prudent use.
Furthermore, we can be proud of the fact that more than 95% of our procurement for the 2020 Election was done through an open, competitive tender process as opposed to sole sourcing and restricted tendering as was the case in the past.
This no doubt ensured value for money in all our processes.
At the right time, the Commission will share with you a report on its procurement processes and savings made to date.
We can also be proud of the fact that for the first time in the Commission’s history, all our processes from Registration to Election day were laid bare to the citizenry.
Through the Let the Citizen Know initiative, we provided every citizen who cared to know, relevant and timely information on all our processes.
Today, citizens have access to information on the number of registrants on the Voter’s roll, the number of registered male and female voters, the number of youth and first-time voters, the number of voters who are persons with disabilities and so on.
In addition, today, we can all be proud that as Ghanaians we went to the polls and cast our votes peacefully.
We can be proud that the technology deployed on Election day worked effectively and efficiently.
Voters all over the country have testified to a pleasant and seamless experience at their respective polling stations.
We must be proud that it took, in many instances, 3-5 minutes for the average voter to be verified and to vote.
We must be proud that the usual hassle and struggle at polling stations, the long queues, the overcrowding, were all absent.
We must be proud that in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, we all went to the polls with our safety guaranteed, as a result of the stringent safety protocols employed by the Commission.
And to crown it all, we must be proud of the fact that 48 hours after the election, we have been able to declare the results of the 2020 Presidential Elections.
With hard work, focus, determination, and above all GOD’S help, we can do all things.
Indeed, we can!
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, it is important to emphasize that we have achieved our successes as a result of the collective efforts of the entire team, that is, our Commission members, our directors and regional directors, deputy directors and deputy regional directors, our District Electoral Officers, our administrative, works and mechanical staff.
We have all worked around the clock to achieve our goals.
To all our team members, I salute you.
Ayekoo!
We certainly could not have succeeded without you, and I commend you all highly.
To the dear citizens of the country, we thank you for believing in us and for walking this journey with us.
Your constructive feedback has helped strengthen our processes and our work and has left us better off now than when we started.
To our media partners, we thank you.
You have been our gateway to the citizenry and have helped us to bring the Commission to the doorstep of citizens.
To the Civil Society Organizations that believed in us and shared recommendations from well thought out research and analysis, we say thank you.
We also thank our election observers, both local and international, for their interest in ensuring that the whole electoral process is transparent, fair and credible.
We commend highly the international observers who traveled all the way to Ghana in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic to observe our elections.
Your feedback so far has been constructive, and we look forward to receiving the full reports as they will no doubt help us strengthen our work and processes.
I will now turn my attention to the reason we are all here.
The Election was conducted in 38,622 polling stations across the country and in 275 constituencies.
At the end of the transparent, fair, orderly, timely and peaceful Presidential Elections, the total number of valid votes cast was 13 Million 4 hundred and 34 thousand, 5 hundred and 74.
(13,434,574) Representing 79% of the total registered voters.
Permit me to present the results in the order of appearance on the 2020 Presidential Ballot Paper.
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo of the New Patriotic Party obtained 6 million 7 hundred and 30 thousand, 4 hundred and 13 (6,730,413) being 51.295% percent of the total valid votes cast 2.
John Dramani Mahama of the National Democratic Congress obtained 6 million, 2 hundred and 14 thousand, 8 hundred and 89 (6,214,889) being 47.366% percent of the total valid votes cast 3.
Christian Kwabena Andrews of the Ghana Union Movement obtained 105 thousand 5 hundred and 65 (105,565) being 0.805% percent of the total valid votes cast 4.
Ivor Kobina Greenstreet of the Conventions Peoples Party obtained 12 thousand 2 hundred and 15 (12,215) being 0.093% percent of the total valid votes cast 5.
Akua Donkor of the Ghana Freedom Party obtained 5 thousand 5 hundred 75 (5,575) being 0.042% percent of the total valid votes cast 6.
Henry Herbert Lartey of the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP) obtained 3 thousand 5 hundred and 74 (3,574) being 0.027% percent of the total valid votes cast 7.
Hassan Ayariga of the All People’s Congress obtained 7 thousand 1 hundred and 40 (7,140) being 0.054% percent of the total valid votes cast 8.
Percival Kofi Akpaloo of the Liberal Party of Ghana obtained 7 thousand 6 hundred and 90 (7,690) being 0.059% percent of the total valid votes cast 9.
David Asibi Apasera of the People’s National Convention (PNC) obtained 10 thousand 8 hundred and 87 (10,887) being 0.083% percent of the total valid votes cast 10.
Brigitte Akosua Dzogbenuku of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) obtained 6 thousand 8 hundred and 48 (6,848) being 0.052% percent of the total valid votes cast 11.
Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings of the National Democratic Party obtained 6 thousand 6 hundred and 12 (6,612) being 0.50% percent of the total valid votes cast 12.
Alfred Kwame Asiedu Walker, Independent candidate obtained 9 thousand 703 (9,703) being 0.074% percent of the total valid votes cast Currently the election results we have declared exclude that of the Techiman South Constituency, with a voter population of 1 hundred and 28 thousand and 18 (128,018).
The said election results are not ready because they are being contested.
As such collation is not complete.
The difference between the total number of votes between by the first and second candidates is 5 hundred and 15 thousand, 5 hundred and 24 votes (515,524).
As a result, even if we added the 1 hundred and 28 thousand and 18 (128,018) to the results of the 2nd candidate, it would not change the outcome of the Presidential Election.
Hence our declaration of the 2020 results without that of Techiman South.
If we were to add the results from Techiman South Constituency, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo would obtain 50.8% of the votes and John Dramani Mahama would obtain 47.873% of the votes.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, on the basis of the foregoing election results and by the power vested in me as Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Ghana, and the Returning Officer of the Presidential election, it is my duty and honor to declare Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as President-Elect of the Republic of Ghana: May God bless our homeland Ghana and make our nation great and strong.
Let peace reign.
It is a pleasure to welcome you all to today's “Let the Citizen Know”.
This is the sixth in the series and we intend to continue to engage with the citizenry through you our media partners until we draw the curtain on election 2020.
We thank the Good Lord for how far he has brought us.
It has been a long journey and we are grateful for his mercies and faithfulness.
This morning presentation will focus on 10 key areas, namely: Overview of the 2020 Registration Exercise The Performance of Our Field Officials and Biometric Voter Registration Kits Covid-19 Protocols Instituted by The Commission Number of Persons Registered at The End of Phase 4 Number of Persons Registered as At Today Number of Persons with Disabilities Who Have Participated in The Registration Exercise Gender Dynamics of Voters Number of First-Time Voters Guarantor System The Introduction of New Policies, And the Nominations.
We are pleased to report that the registration process is proceeding well.
We are currently on the last but one phase, that is Phase 5.
We have one more phase i.e.
phase 6 before we proceed to carry out a three-day Mop Up exercise.
In selected centers nationwide the information from our officers is that the number of applicants who are presenting themselves for registration is dwindling in some Registration Centers.
Therefore, The Commission may not undertake a blanket Mop-Up exercise in all Registration Centers.
The Mop-Up exercise will be done on need-basis and we will rely on information from our field officers and our staff on deciding on Centers which will benefit from the Mop Up exercise.
By and large the Mop-Up exercise will focus on areas and Centers which still have a good number of citizens who were unable to participate in the main exercise.
We are pleased to note that the introduction of the mobile registration teams has greatly reduced the heavy concentration of persons at some Registration Centers, particularly in densely populated communities.
The Commission has put in place stand by mobile teams throughout the country who swiftly step in to assist with registrations in densely populated/overcrowded areas.
This mechanism has helped to reduce the large crowds and has enabled The Commission to maintain the social distancing protocols.
The Performance of Field Officials and Biometric Voter Registration Kits We are happy to report that our field officials continue to remain focused and dedicated to duty.
This has contributed to the high numbers of registrants we witness on a daily basis.
It is pleasing to note that on average, each data entry clerk is registering 150 persons per day, per kit as opposed to past registrations where we averaged 70 persons per day.
Having operated our registration kits for a few weeks, it is gratifying to note that a good number of the registration officials are now able to register up to 280 persons per day per kit.
This means that in some place, officers are are using a little under 6 minutes to register one person.
On behalf of the commission, we take this opportunity to commend them for the good work they are doing for God and country.
We continue to receive positive testimonies of applicant’s experiences at the Registration Centers and the swiftness of the process.
This is a testament to the efficiency of the kits and the professionalism of our officials.
However, we have also received some uncomplimentary reports of a few officials who misconduct themselves and flout the laid down policies of the commission.
As we have emphasized time and time again, The Commission will not shield any staff who violate the laid down procedures and rules.
Over the last few weeks we have had to lay off a few field officials who have misconducted themselves.
Our goal is to ensure that every citizen has the best experience at our Registration Centers across the country and where there is evidence that staff operate to the contrary, The Commission has not hesitated to replace them.
It is gratifying to note that our Biometric Registration Kits are functioning effectively.
For the record, The Commission procured 8,530 Biometric Kits for the Exercise.
All the kits have been deployed into the field and our district offices.
Indeed, the robustness of the kits account for the high numbers we are witnessing.
Our officials report on the accuracy of the scanners in capturing high quality fingerprints of applicants.
Together with the facial recognition feature, we should witness a reduction in the use of manual verification come December 7 th 2020.
Covid-19 Protocols Instituted by The Commission The stringent Covid-19 protocols instituted at all our Registration Centers are still firmly in place.
We continue to rehash the importance of enforcing the wearing of masks, the checking of temperatures, the washing of hands, and the wiping of scanners among others.
It is important to highlight that The Commission has procured an adequate supply of materials, ranging from sanitizers, to thermometer guns, liquid soaps, tissues, wipes etc.
Additionally, our officials have been adequately trained and oriented to follow the safety protocols.
Whilst in most of our Centers these protocols are being adhered to, we have received disturbing reports of Centers where our officials are not enforcing the safety protocols.
The Commission has had to lay off staff for their non-adherence to the laid down policies.
The Commission attaches great importance to the safety of citizens and will stop at nothing to ensure that every Ghanaian registers in a safe and secure environment.
From the reports we are receiving, the experiences of many Ghanaians at the Registration Centers have been positive.
Security at our Registration Centers- As we emphasized at the last “Let the Citizen know” encounter, The Commission continues to work closely with the Security Agencies to ensure the safety and security of citizens at our Registration Centers.
We remain in close contact with the Security Agencies at all levels - national, regional and district levels and share important information that we pick up from the field.
The mechanism through which this is being done, that is the Election Security Task Force, has worked very well, with rare exceptions.
We encourage citizens to be law abiding and urge them to use the various mechanisms and processes laid out by the EC to register their grievances and concerns.
We assure citizens that the mechanisms we have put in place work, and it is important therefore that they apply them and not take the law into their own hands.
Number of Persons Registered at The End of Phase 4 and as at Today.
We now come to the number of persons registered nationwide at the end of the fourth phase.
As at Friday the 24 th of July, the total number of registered voters stood at 11,629,480 – 11 million 629 thousand 480 persons registered.
At the end of the fourth phase the Greater Accra Region had the highest number of registrants; totaling 2 million 615 thousand and 925 people (2,615,925).
The Ashanti Region came second with a total of 2 million 89 thousand and 923 people (2,089,923) and the Eastern Region came third with a total of 1 million 84 thousand and 734 people (1,084,734).