Kpessa-Whyte claims that the EC is hiring NPP members for positions on election day.

Prof. Michael Kpessa-Whyte, a political scientist at the University of Ghana’s Institute of African Studies, has expressed concerns regarding the Electoral Commission’s (EC) readiness and openness in the run-up to the elections.
He claimed that the electoral process may have been compromised if the EC had hired New Patriotic Party (NPP) members to oversee crucial positions at polling places.

Prof. Kpessa-Whyte attacked the EC in an interview on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday for failing to make public the names of the people it has hired to supervise election operations at voting places across the country.
“To ensure accountability, such information should have been made available to political parties and the public with less than a week to go to the polls,” he said.

“If my memory serves me well, the election is seven or six days away, and the political parties don’t know who the people are. This is significant because there are rumours that some of the people in executive positions in some political parties, especially the NPP, may have been hired to do tasks like printing ballots, inking, or possibly verifying the names in the register, among other things,” he said.
The logistical preparedness of the EC was also questioned by Mr. Kpessa-Whyte, namely with reference to the delivery of election materials and the operation of biometric verification devices (BVDs).

For example, 430 biometric devices are needed in Asawase, which has 215 voting stations, assuming two each station. Only 401 have been delivered, though. The EC claims that “we will manage,” but he clarified that this strategy might result in long lines, delays, and even disenfranchisement of voters who might leave.

In order to boost public trust in the election process, he asked the EC to take immediate action to resolve these issues.

This include making the list of polling station employees public, giving thorough instructions on how to distribute and use election materials, and making sure that everything is ready to go smoothly on election day.

“If there are any such issues, it is crucial that they be resolved, especially for the sake of free and fair elections. Furthermore, it is in the EC’s best interest to improve its image by doing these things more effectively.