As we get nearer and nearer the polling day, many Ghanaian voters get more and more uneasy and concerned about the security of the ballot papers that wil cast in favour of the NDC. It is mainly this apprehention, expressed variously and repeatedly with such urgency by our members, supporters and sympathizers on the street, in the chop bars, drinking spots, markets and in deed everywhere all over Ghana that has mainly informed today’s event. In deed, the wonderful idea that gave rise to the launching of the NDC Party Agent Support Fund was mooted by one of our ardent supporters.Why pooling Agents Support Fund? To answer this question you need to know what Pooling Agents really do on the election day. Polling Agents are a political party’s representative at a polling station. They observe election proceeding to ensure that their party’s interest is protected and to enhance credibility of the elections. One can in fact, say that the Pollin Agents are the watchdogs of a free, fair and transparent election process. In general, Polling Agents ascertain that an election goes on well.
Ladies and Gentlemen: the specific work of the Polling Agent during the polls includes the following:
Ø Checking impersonation and other forms of electoral fraud including:
o Multiple Voting
o Juvenile voting
o Casting ballot s that do not beat the official ballot validation of the station
Ø Ensuring that election officials go by the rules, procedures and prescribed mode of conduct;
Ø Assisting when requested to do so, the Presiding Officer to establish the true identity of a voter whose identity is in doubt;
Ø Assisting, when requested to do so, the Presiding Officer to keep order at the polling station;
Ø Helping to detect and prevent persons who try to temper with the contents of the ballot box;
Ø Observing the counting of votes closely and actively to ensure that each ballot is counted in faovour of the candididate for whom it is cast
Ø Ensuring that a ballot is not counted if it does not bear the official ballot validation of the plloing satation;
Ø Paying close attention to ballots that are rejected;
Ø Certifying the results at the polling station.
For more information on the role and functions of Polling Agents, you need top consult the Electoral Commision’s booklet entitled A GUIDE TO CANDIDATES AND THEIR AGENTS with a September 2008 dated foreword by DR. Kwadwo Afari Gyan, Chairman of the Electoral Commsion of Ghana.It is in recognition of the importance of the polling agents in our electoral process that the NDC has for some time now been following a well laid down procedure to select literate, knowledgeable, commited and incorruptible party agents. Efforts in this direction have been serious and are well advanced. There is however a lot more to be donewithin a period of 37 days to the crucial 2008 December Presidential and Parliamentary Elections.
According to the electoral commission, Ghana has a minimum 22,000 polling stations each of which station electins take place. This means that if a political party is to be represented by two persons at each polling statin, then NDC would need to recruit, train and place a minimum of 44,000 literate, knowledgeable, commited and incorruptible polling agents. This number includes other party election officials who will be tasked to bring out potential NDC voters to “come out and cast their votes” on the polling day.Polling agents recruitment, training, and placement require the expenditure of a substantial amount of money. Even moreexpensive is the motivation of polling agents placed at the polling stations fro at least 10 hours to ensure the intergrity of the polls. Poling agents’ motivation involves provision of adequatesafe drinking water, adqute wholesome food and the payment of the polling agents’ allowances for the polling day.In recent elections, NDC had not been able to make the finanacial provision and logistical arrangements necessary to cater for the needs of our polling agents at all polling stations and on time. In the circumstance, our political opponents had in the past had the opportunity of tricking our polling agents into accepting and eating packaged food (take-aways) laced with laxative and drinking water leced with sleep-inducing medicinal agents.This grossly immoral strategy by our main political opponent to effectively compromised the loyalty and lowered vigilance of many of our agents during the polls in many constituencies. In some instances, the food that the NDC polling agents had unwittingly or innocently eaten occasioned the need for them to doze off, respond with abnormal frequency to nature’s call or abandon the polling station all together, making it possible for all manner of rigging to take place.
Quite apart from safeguarding the ballot, the NDC has the moral responsibility to protect the health and lives of its polling agents in the polling stations across the country.
The NDC does not think that the precious lives of Ghanaians, tasked to ensure free, fair and transparent elections, should be unnecessary endangered through the desperation on the part of our main political opponent to retain power through criminal means.
It is therefore the policy of the NDC this time around that only the NDC and her party executives supply its polling agents adequate amounts of wholesome food and safe drinking water at all polling stations across the country at the right time on the pollin day.This appeal is being made to all Ghanaians needing a change for A Better Ghana to help supplement the financial and logistical arrangements made made so far to support more than 100,000 polling agents and other party election officials tasked to bring out people to vote.There is virtually, no time left fro December 7 elections to happen. You may be happy to know that the ball has been set rolling through a contribution of 10,000 Ghana cedis by one of our very ardent and but concerned supporter who mooted the NDC polling agents support fund. You may wish to contact any of the under mentioned to make your contribution, no matter how small.
1. Dr Kwabena Adjei – NDC National Chairman(Tel. 0243332661)
2. Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia NDC General Secretary (Tel. 0243327745)
3. Madam Margaret Clerk-Kwesie – NDC Natiaonal Treasurer (Tel. 0243366069)
4. Naval Captain Kwadwo Butah NDC Natioanal Finance Committee Chairman
(Tel. 0277166312)
5. Mr Mathias Mokono Wilson – Accountant, NDC NationAl Secreatariat
(Tel. 0284757571)
Be a patriot. Let us all break the jinx of political discrimination and intimidation. Do not be afraid of victimisation which has become the order of the day in today’s Ghana. As a Ghanaian, you have the democratic right to support the political party of your choice. Simply refuse to be collected by incipient fascism and anti-democratic tendencies of our main political opponent. Be proud to be an NDC. Come out and support the NDC liberally to ensure that our ballot is safeguarded.When you make a contribution, please insist on the receipt covering your contribution to enable certificate of recognition of the right category- Platinum, Gold, Silver – to be awarded to you.
Ladies and Gentlemen: the specific work of the Polling Agent during the polls includes the following:
Ø Checking impersonation and other forms of electoral fraud including:
o Multiple Voting
o Juvenile voting
o Casting ballot s that do not beat the official ballot validation of the station
Ø Ensuring that election officials go by the rules, procedures and prescribed mode of conduct;
Ø Assisting when requested to do so, the Presiding Officer to establish the true identity of a voter whose identity is in doubt;
Ø Assisting, when requested to do so, the Presiding Officer to keep order at the polling station;
Ø Helping to detect and prevent persons who try to temper with the contents of the ballot box;
Ø Observing the counting of votes closely and actively to ensure that each ballot is counted in faovour of the candididate for whom it is cast
Ø Ensuring that a ballot is not counted if it does not bear the official ballot validation of the plloing satation;
Ø Paying close attention to ballots that are rejected;
Ø Certifying the results at the polling station.
For more information on the role and functions of Polling Agents, you need top consult the Electoral Commision’s booklet entitled A GUIDE TO CANDIDATES AND THEIR AGENTS with a September 2008 dated foreword by DR. Kwadwo Afari Gyan, Chairman of the Electoral Commsion of Ghana.It is in recognition of the importance of the polling agents in our electoral process that the NDC has for some time now been following a well laid down procedure to select literate, knowledgeable, commited and incorruptible party agents. Efforts in this direction have been serious and are well advanced. There is however a lot more to be donewithin a period of 37 days to the crucial 2008 December Presidential and Parliamentary Elections.
According to the electoral commission, Ghana has a minimum 22,000 polling stations each of which station electins take place. This means that if a political party is to be represented by two persons at each polling statin, then NDC would need to recruit, train and place a minimum of 44,000 literate, knowledgeable, commited and incorruptible polling agents. This number includes other party election officials who will be tasked to bring out potential NDC voters to “come out and cast their votes” on the polling day.Polling agents recruitment, training, and placement require the expenditure of a substantial amount of money. Even moreexpensive is the motivation of polling agents placed at the polling stations fro at least 10 hours to ensure the intergrity of the polls. Poling agents’ motivation involves provision of adequatesafe drinking water, adqute wholesome food and the payment of the polling agents’ allowances for the polling day.In recent elections, NDC had not been able to make the finanacial provision and logistical arrangements necessary to cater for the needs of our polling agents at all polling stations and on time. In the circumstance, our political opponents had in the past had the opportunity of tricking our polling agents into accepting and eating packaged food (take-aways) laced with laxative and drinking water leced with sleep-inducing medicinal agents.This grossly immoral strategy by our main political opponent to effectively compromised the loyalty and lowered vigilance of many of our agents during the polls in many constituencies. In some instances, the food that the NDC polling agents had unwittingly or innocently eaten occasioned the need for them to doze off, respond with abnormal frequency to nature’s call or abandon the polling station all together, making it possible for all manner of rigging to take place.
Quite apart from safeguarding the ballot, the NDC has the moral responsibility to protect the health and lives of its polling agents in the polling stations across the country.
The NDC does not think that the precious lives of Ghanaians, tasked to ensure free, fair and transparent elections, should be unnecessary endangered through the desperation on the part of our main political opponent to retain power through criminal means.
It is therefore the policy of the NDC this time around that only the NDC and her party executives supply its polling agents adequate amounts of wholesome food and safe drinking water at all polling stations across the country at the right time on the pollin day.This appeal is being made to all Ghanaians needing a change for A Better Ghana to help supplement the financial and logistical arrangements made made so far to support more than 100,000 polling agents and other party election officials tasked to bring out people to vote.There is virtually, no time left fro December 7 elections to happen. You may be happy to know that the ball has been set rolling through a contribution of 10,000 Ghana cedis by one of our very ardent and but concerned supporter who mooted the NDC polling agents support fund. You may wish to contact any of the under mentioned to make your contribution, no matter how small.
1. Dr Kwabena Adjei – NDC National Chairman(Tel. 0243332661)
2. Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia NDC General Secretary (Tel. 0243327745)
3. Madam Margaret Clerk-Kwesie – NDC Natiaonal Treasurer (Tel. 0243366069)
4. Naval Captain Kwadwo Butah NDC Natioanal Finance Committee Chairman
(Tel. 0277166312)
5. Mr Mathias Mokono Wilson – Accountant, NDC NationAl Secreatariat
(Tel. 0284757571)
Be a patriot. Let us all break the jinx of political discrimination and intimidation. Do not be afraid of victimisation which has become the order of the day in today’s Ghana. As a Ghanaian, you have the democratic right to support the political party of your choice. Simply refuse to be collected by incipient fascism and anti-democratic tendencies of our main political opponent. Be proud to be an NDC. Come out and support the NDC liberally to ensure that our ballot is safeguarded.When you make a contribution, please insist on the receipt covering your contribution to enable certificate of recognition of the right category- Platinum, Gold, Silver – to be awarded to you.
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