Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, former chair of the Electoral Commission (EC), has advised political parties not to hire just anyone to work as poll workers.
Due to the significance of an agent’s role and the parties’ request, he asked them not to appoint “nonentities” as their agents.
“Fortunately, in some elections I have seen some big people serving as agents don’t go and recruit nonentities to go and do the work at the polling stations, it is brainwork,” he said while speaking at a lecture organized by the Rotary Club of Accra West on Wednesday, February 8.
He clarified that political parties must hire polling agents who are familiar with the voting process and who can raise concerns in the proper way if they feel that something is being done improperly.
According to Dr. Afari-Gyan, a polling agent’s role involves thinking rather than fighting.
He said “Refusing to sign the pink sheet, as we call it in Ghana, does not automatically invalidate the election results.
“Some candidates believe that if the agents don’t sign it means the results are invalid. Sometimes we are told that the candidates even tell the party ‘if I lose very badly don’t sign it’, thinking that it will be invalidated. No, refusing to sign the pink sheet does not automatically invalidate the election results.
“What does the law say? The law says if you are refusing to sign you must give reasons in writing at the polling station why you do not sign it and then the electoral commission will later look into the reason that you have given. If you have not written any such thing then ignore it.
Source:Mybrytfmonline.com/Joseph Asare
