One person arrested for taking photos of ballot paper

A young man in his early twenties has been arrested by a Police Officer at Shama DA Forecourt B polling station in the Western Region for allegedly taking shots of his ballot paper.

He is currently at the Shama Police station undergoing questioning.

Already the Electoral Commission (EC) has cautioned Ghanaians against such acts.

Director of Electoral Services at the EC, Dr Serebour Quaicoe, has said one violates the principles governing the electoral process by taking pictures of their ballot paper after voting.

According to him, “an individual commits an offence by telling others the party he voted and sharing photos of ballot papers as it breaches the secrecy of the ballot.”

He said “If you finish and you tell people who you voted for, that is fine but it is an offence for you to take photos of it and be showing it to people. It breaches the secrecy of the ballot. In the view of the law you can be arrested,”

Ghanaians are voting to the polls today Monday, December 7, 2020, to elect a President and 275 Parliamentarians.

Over 17 million voters are expected to take part in the exercise. The figure is  2 million more than the number of voters who voted in the previous election in 2016.

The electoral commission has said over 33,000 polling stations have been dedicated for the presidential and parliamentary polls.