Polling stations are security zones, you can’t deploy drones – EC tells NDC

The Electoral Commission (EC) and the main opposition opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) are locked up in a dispute over party’s decision to deploy drones to monitor the December 7 general elections in the Greater Accra Region.

While the NDC says the deployment of the drones is to strengthen the party’s monitoring system, the EC insists that the polling stations are security zones, and therefore it would be impossible for the party to deploy drones there.

NDC position
Announcing the NDC’s planned decision, the Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the party, Emmanuel Nii Ashie Moore explained that the strategy is to ensure fairness and avoid any potential irregularities. Already, he said plans are underway to train personnel to operate the drones.

“Next week, we are going to train constituency executives on how to use drones to monitor what happens during the elections, One of the key things in this election is going to be vigilance. We can do all the campaigning we want but if we are not vigilant on the day and don’t cover every polling station with eagle eyes, you will do everything you can and not achieve the objective that you want and so in Greater Accra in particular, we want you to cover your polling stations with the best party agents,” he told party supporters.

No notification
But, the Director of Electoral Services at the EC, Dr Serebour Quaicoe said the commission has not received official notification from the NDC on the deployment of drones. He said deployment of drones by the party would be a violation of the security protocols and compromise the privacy of voters. “Polling stations are security zones, so they will have to apply to the security people for permission to be granted. They will have to apply to the Electoral Commission for permission to be granted,” Dr Serebour Quaicoe stated .

Comfortability question
He questioned how comfortable voters would be when a drone would be hovering over the polling station while they are going to vote. “How sure are you with respect to the secrecy of the ballot,” Dr Quaicoe queried.

Security zones
To Dr Serebour Quaicoe, it would be challenging for the EC or the Police to approve the use of drones at polling stations, emphasising polling stations are considered security zones. “The fact remains that polling stations are security zones. We want to ensure the secrecy of the ballot. So at the polling station where I am going to make my choice, I want to vote in that secrecy,” he stated.