GHANA: Voting in Ghana's presidential election is set to continue into a second day after technical problems prevented thousands of people from casting their ballots on time

Record ID: 327864

  • Title: GHANA: Voting in Ghana's presidential election is set to continue into a second day after technical problems prevented thousands of people from casting their ballots on time
  • Date: 8th December 2012
  • Summary: ACCRA, GHANA (DECEMBER 7, 2012) (REUTERS) PEOPLE QUEUING AT POLLING STATION PEOPLE QUEUING TO VOTE (SOUNDBITE) (English) VOTER, ABUBAKAR IMORO, SAYING: "I came and stand here since four o'clock in the morning, still I am here. It is very difficult, we never see (this) before." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE CASTING THEIR VOTE (SOUNDBITE) (English) VOTER, BEATRICE AKPAPLI, SAYING: "We are here, they say machine is freeze or something like that, they are yet to bring another machine. But it's now that they brought another machine, so we are waiting." PEOPLE QUEUE AT NIGHT VARIOUS OF POLLING OFFICERS WRITING ON PAPERS MAN RAISING EMPTY BALLOT BOX AND SHOWING IT TO PEOPLE AT POLLING STATION POLLING OFFICERS SORTING OUT BALLOT PAPERS EMPTY BALLOT BOX READING "Presidential, C110708A Sowah Gifts Sch" VARIOUS OF POLLING OFFICERS SORTING OUT BALLOT PAPERS VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WATCHING VARIOUS OF POLLING OFFICER COUNTING BALLOTS PAPERS
  • Embargoed: 23rd December 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Ghana
  • Country: Ghana
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA8I80WEWJ02VITK4MIHHZ6HRAG
  • Story Text: Ghana extended voting in its presidential election into a second day, officials said on Friday (December 7), after a rash of technical problems caused delays and long lines and prevented thousands of voters in the West African country from casting their ballots on time.
    A resident in the capital Accra said this was the first time he had seen such long lines at polling stations in Ghana.

    "I came and stand here since four o'clock in the morning, still I am here. It is very difficult, we never see (this) before," said Abubakar Imoro.
    Many newly-introduced electronic fingerprint readers used to verify people's identities malfunctioned during the day, slowing voting and creating long lines that could not be cleared before the close of voting.

    "We are here, they say machine is freeze or something like that, they are yet to bring another machine. But it's now that they brought another machine, so we are waiting," said Beatrice Akpapli.
    A spokesman for the main opposition party said the glitches had affected hundreds of thousands of people, though the electoral commission declined to give an estimate.
    Though residents were frustrated with the long wait, the spillover was broadly accepted by political parties and voters, who hoped the poll would entrench Ghana's reputation as a bulwark of democracy and progress in West Africa, a region better known for civil wars, coups and corruption.
    Polling stations where voting was complete began counting on Friday evening.
    The election pits President John Dramani Mahama, who replaced the late John Atta Mills after his death in July, against Nana Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), who has vowed to provide free education and root out corruption.
    Opinion polls point to a tight race, raising the prospect of a repeat of the near-deadlock of the 2008 elections, in which Mills defeated Akufo-Addo in a run-off with a margin of less than 1 percent.
    Results are expected within two days of polls closing, with a second round possible at the end of December if no one wins an outright majority.
    The stakes are high, with rivals competing for a chance to oversee a boom in oil revenues that has brought hopes of increased development in a country where the average person still makes less than $4 a day.
    While economic woes grip Europe and the United States, Ghana, also a major cocoa and gold producer, is expected to post economic growth of about 8 percent next year and is increasingly praised by investment bankers and fund managers.
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