JUST IN: EC Responds To Claims Of Unpaid 2020 Field Workers

The Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana responds to allegations of non-payment of field workers who were contracted to work during the 2020 general elections.

Stay informed about the latest developments on this issue and the status of payments to the field workers.

The 2020 Ghana general elections were held on December 7, 2020, to elect a President and Members of Parliament (MPs) for the next four years.

The election was the eighth since the country returned to constitutional rule in 1992.

Incumbent President Nana Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) sought re-election for a second term, while John Dramani Mahama of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) ran against him in a rematch of the 2016 presidential election.

In the presidential election, President Akufo-Addo was declared the winner with 51.59% of the votes, while John Mahama obtained 47.36% of the votes. The other presidential candidates obtained less than 1% of the total votes.

In the parliamentary elections, the NPP won 137 seats, while the NDC won 136 seats, with one independent candidate winning a seat. This outcome led to a hung parliament, where neither of the two major parties had a clear majority.

Subsequently, the NPP and the NDC each nominated a candidate for the position of Speaker of Parliament, leading to a controversial and closely contested election. Ultimately, Alban Bagbin of the NDC was elected as the Speaker of Parliament.

The 2020 Ghana general elections were widely regarded as peaceful and generally free and fair, despite some isolated incidents of violence and allegations of vote rigging by some political parties. Overall, the outcome of the election was seen as a reflection of the democratic maturity of Ghana and its citizens.

WHO ARE FIELD WORKERS IN GHANA?

In Ghana, field workers of the Electoral Commission (EC) are individuals who are contracted by the EC to work on the organization, management, and conduct of elections at the local level.

Field workers of the EC in Ghana are responsible for various tasks, such as voter registration, voter education, voter verification, polling station setup, ballot box delivery, and vote counting. They work on a temporary basis during the election period and are usually recruited from the local communities where the election is taking place.

Examples of field workers of the EC in Ghana include presiding officers, polling assistants, verification officers, and registration officers.

These workers are trained by the EC to perform their duties effectively and ensure that elections are conducted in a transparent, fair, and credible manner.

HAS THE EC PAID THEM YET?

Prior to the release of the letter, there was news circulating that the Electoral Commission of Ghana has not fully paid over 200,000 of its field staff who worked on the 2020 general elections.

The EC in a letter has debunked such news and deemed it to be false. The EC further went on to state in the letter that those (persons or groups) who claim such do not exist and are therefore ghosts.

Read the letter below;

After the release of this letter, some field workers for the 2020 elections also reacted to their letter. Check their reactions below;

Come to the Nabdam district and verify. More than 20 health workers who were engaged during the registration period to take temperature and make sure people adhere to covid protocols have not been paid to date. Follow-ups were made and they haven’t had any reasonable response.

There are arrears outstanding. Not all have been paid, please

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