Kumawu: EC on why signed pink sheet at Oyoko polling station was cancelled

The Ashanti Regional Director of the Electoral Commission (EC), Benjamin Banor-Bio has denied the claim by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) that its agent at one of the polling stations at Oyoko in the Kumawu by-election was forced to sign the pink sheet form.

He said what happened was a mistake by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) agent at the polling station and that, no one was forced to sign any form.

He explained that there are two types of the pink sheets that are signed by every agent at the polling station.

Before the polls are opened, the agents sign one section of the form to acknowledge the number of ballots issued to the station and the number of voters.

Additionally, he said the agents also signed the form after the ballots have been counted to indicate their presence at the counting.

According to him, what happened Tuesday morning at the polling station “was that after the agents signed the first portion, the presiding officer asked them to write their names on the other form, [and] sign against their names after the close of polls.”

However, he said when the NPP agent wrote his name, he continued to sign his portion.

Mr Banor-Bio said when the EC’s attention was drawn to the issue, “We immediately replaced the pink sheet for them.”

Background 

The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NDC, Augustus Nana Kwasi accused the Presiding Officer at the Oyoko Methodist Primary School of forcing the NDC agent to sign the pink sheet before the close of polls and asked that the Presiding Officer should be replaced.

The incident happened in the morning during the by-election to elect a new Member of Parliament for Kumawu.