Over 18.7 million people are expected to head to polling stations to elect a new president in the gold-rich country on Saturday.
On Thursday, political parties in Ghana held their final campaign rallies, and all seems set for Saturday's presidential and parliamentary elections.
Over 18.7 million people are expected to head to polling stations to elect a new president in the gold-rich country.
According to the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC), there are 12 candidates: nine representing political parties and four independent candidates.
However, the race is expected to be primarily between the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), which is fielding Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, and the National Democratic Congress (NDC), where former President John Mahama is seeking a comeback.
Meanwhile, Yiaga Africa's election team commenced its election mission and observation studies of Ghana's electoral process with a series of engagements with different stakeholders in the electoral system.
The 12-member delegation, headed by Aisha Abdulahi, held meetings with civil society organisations, the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), and officers of the EC.
The mission includes the Nigerian Senate Committee on INEC and Electoral Matters, represented by Sharafadeen Alli; the Chairman of the Nigerian House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters, Adebayo Balogun; the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Afam Osigwe; the Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo; and others.
So far, these engagements have unveiled processes in Ghana's electoral system that may help address gaps in Nigeria's electoral framework.
Early voting or special election
Ghana's electoral process accommodates what is known as special elections for individuals who may be on duty on Election Day. These include security personnel, electoral officers, journalists, and others directly involved in the process. Such individuals are allowed to vote on a designated day for special votes.
Section 23 of the Public Elections Regulations of 2020 provides guidelines for this voting. Voters interested in special elections must notify the electoral district responsible for their area.
According to data from the EC website, 131,478 voters are on the special voters' list. Most of them voted on Monday, with an additional day added on Thursday to conclude the process.
During a meeting between the Yiaga Africa mission and EC officials, this special voting session was extensively deliberated. If introduced in Nigeria, journalists, security officers, INEC staff, and ad hoc staff could gain the opportunity to vote.
Messrs Alli and Balogun, chairpersons of the Senate and House Committees on Electoral Matters, posed questions regarding the process and discussed the possibility of including it in the ongoing review of Nigeria's Electoral Act.
Voting by proxy
In this election, 1,291 voters will cast their votes by proxy, allowing someone else to vote on their behalf.
Ghana's electoral system recognises voting by proxy for voters who are sick, outside the country, or unable to participate on Election Day. However, a proxy voter can only vote for one person.
Section 25 of the Public Elections Regulations provides guidelines for this exercise. Eligible voters must register for proxy voting 42 days before the election.
Fred Tetteh, a deputy director at the EC, informed the Yiaga Africa team that some Ghanaians in the diaspora often vote using the proxy system.
Could Nigerians have proxy voting by the 2027 general elections? It is unclear, but the idea has piqued the interest of several study mission members.
Fax machines to transmit regional results
Electronic transmission of results has been contentious in Ghana since around 2016. In the lead-up to the 2016 elections, the NPP, then the opposition party, objected to the EC's plan to adopt an electronic results transmission system (ERTS).
Ghana still relies on manual transmission of results but uses fax machines to transmit results from the regions to the national collation centre.
The country has 40,648 polling units, 276 constituencies, and 16 regions. For the presidential election, results are moved manually from polling units to constituency collation centres. Constituency-collated results are then transmitted to the regions.
From the regions, the results are sent to the national collation centre using fax machines.
"Each region has its fax machine. When you come to the National Collation Centre, we have 16 fax machines," Mr Tetteh told the Yiaga Africa mission.
He further explained, "Each fax machine is dedicated to a region. All the fax machines are set to receive a single paper from each region. The regional director would dial a number connecting to the designated fax machine. The result must have been verified by the regional director and party representatives at the regional collation centre."
Copies of the faxed results are shared with party agents, who are given 20 minutes to review the results before they are announced.
This system eliminates delays associated with physically transporting results from all the regions. Could this be adopted in Nigeria? It remains uncertain.
Free movement on election day, but no alcohol sales within 500 metres of polling stations
One notable feature of Ghana's election management is the free movement of citizens on Election Day.
Voters are allowed to move freely without restrictions, and businesses can remain open, unlike in Nigeria, where vehicular movements are restricted.
However, the law prohibits alcohol sales within a 500-metre radius of any polling station.
Polling Hours: 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Ghana has a longer voting period than Nigeria. Polling stations open at 7 a.m. and close at 5 p.m., after which sorting and counting begin.
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In 2022, the EC proposed extending the voting period, but Ghana's Parliament rejected the motion. Thus, on Saturday, voting will continue until 5 p.m.
Independent Candidates
Four presidential candidates on the ballot on Saturday are independent. Ghanaian law permits independent candidates as long as they meet the requirements outlined in Section 7 of the Public Elections Regulations.
Candidates must secure signatures from two registered voters in each of the 276 constituencies to qualify. Once this and other criteria are fulfilled, the nominee is included on the ballot.
The ballot paper features the candidate's picture and the logo of their party.
Yiaga Africa Mission
The 12-member delegation includes legislators, academics, civil society leaders, legal experts, and media practitioners from across Africa.
The team is studying Ghana's electoral governance architecture, particularly the election results management system, legal and administrative mechanisms for protecting citizens' voting rights, and the role of technology and artificial intelligence (AI) in safeguarding electoral integrity. They are also assessing how issue-based politics shapes political competition.
The mission is part of Yiaga Africa's Transforming Electoral Governance in Africa (TEGA) initiative. Similar studies have been conducted in Sierra Leone, Liberia, South Africa, and now Ghana.
