The suspension followed the death of Madam Akua Donkor, the flagbearer of the Ghana Freedom Party (GFP), on October 28, 2024.

The Commission granted the GFP 10 days to replace its flagbearer, in accordance with Article 50 (4) of the 1992 Constitution.

During a media briefing after touring three ballot printing facilities in Accra, the Deputy Chairman in charge of Corporate Services at the EC, Dr. Bossman Asare, confirmed that the Commission would revisit the matter next week.

“As you are aware, the printing of parliamentary ballots is ongoing. We have put the presidential ballot papers on hold. It is likely that by next week, the Commission will revisit that particular issue,” he said.

The three printing houses visited were Buck Press in Ofankor, where ballot papers for the Ashanti, Savannah, Oti, and Central regions are being printed; Innolink in the North Industrial Area, responsible for ballots for the Greater Accra and North East regions; and Acts Commercials Limited in Darkuman, where ballots for Upper East, Upper West, and Western North are being produced.

The tour’s purpose was to give journalists firsthand insight into the printing process, aimed at enhancing transparency and building public trust in the electoral process.

The tour was led by the Director of Electoral Services at the EC, Benjamin Bano-Bioh, along with Dr. Asare.

Dr. Asare emphasised that the ballot printing process has been “transparent.” He dismissed claims that the Commission had printed more ballots than needed for the 2024 election, calling such reports a “complete lie.”

“What the EC wants you to know is that nothing is done without the knowledge, even the inputs of political parties, and you can see clearly here that not only the main political parties are represented here.

“We even have Madam Akua Donkor, who is no longer going to be a candidate; the agent is here. The independent candidates also have their agents here, as well as the other minor political parties.

“So, if you hear anyone saying that the Electoral Commission has printed more than necessary ballots, that’s a complete lie, because the parties are aware; they know the ballot statistics for each region, for each constituency,” he said.

Mr. Bano-Bioh stated that the Commission was one of the few election management institutions in the sub-region that printed its ballot papers locally, indicating the strength of its operations.

He said the Commission had nothing to hide, adding that it (the EC) was committed to a free, fair, and transparent electoral process.

“We are here to let you know that printing ballots is not done in secrecy. We open up to the public for you to know that we are doing it together with the political party agents.

“At every level, there are agents, and they observe to ensure that the right thing is done. They take copies of the serial range of numbers; they take copies of the quantities being printed for each constituency, and we give them all these details at the end.

“So, printing ballots, they are with us, and they make sure that whatever we have packaged and is ready to be sent to our regions and constituencies, apart from the Electoral Commission’s seals, they also add their seals and take records of that,” he stated.

Dr. Francis Nyanin, Executive Director of Buck Press, said the company was working around the clock to ensure that it met the deadline.

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The renowned man of God who did not mince words has stated he is totally against it.

However, he did not emphatically give his reasons.

“I am totally against pastors who will stand on their pulpit and declare who is going to become a President,” he said in an interview with Accra-based TV3, adding pastors sometimes miss it.

On the sidelines of this, Dr Tetteh was asked if he had any presidential ambition.

He responded, “I feel sad for the president. It is a headache. No, never.”

To him, doing God’s work was fulfilling and he has no regrets.

“I was supposed to be a career diplomat. I specialised in International Relations and have the chance to lecture the course in many universities but I must be honest with you, what I do today is satisfying. There is fulfillment in what I preach,” he added.

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He defeated the current president, Mohamed Abudallahi Farmajo, who has been in office since 2017.

The ballot was limited to Somalia’s 328 MPs due to security concerns over holding a wider election, and one of them did not cast a vote.

Mr Mohamud received 214 votes, defeating Mr Farmajo who won 110 votes.

Three MPs are reported to have spoiled their ballots.

The unusual circumstances highlight Somalia’s security issues as well as the lack of democratic accountability.

The result marks a comeback for Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who served as Somalia’s president between 2012 and 2017 before he was defeated by Mr Farmajo.

The elections – which were hotly contested and went to a third-round – were delayed for almost 15 months due to infighting and security issues.

Mr Mohamud was sworn in shortly after the final results were announced, prompting supporters in the capital to cheer and fire guns into the air. He will serve for the next four years.

In the vote on Sunday, hundreds of parliamentarians cast their ballots at a fortified aircraft hangar in the capital Mogadishu.

Explosions could be heard nearby as voting was taking place, but police said no casualties were reported.

As the incoming president, Mr Mohamud will have to deal with the impact of an ongoing drought in which the UN says 3.5 million Somalis are at risk of severe famine.

But the big task he faces is to wrest control of much of Somalia from al-Shabab. The al-Qaeda-linked Islamist militant group continues to dominate large parts of the country and carries out frequent attacks in Mogadishu and elsewhere.

The country is also being affected by food and fuel inflation sparked by the war in Ukraine.

The government is backed in its fight against al-Shabab by the African Union, in the shape of some 18,000 troops and the United Nations.

The instability is one of the reasons why Somalia has been unable to hold direct elections. Somalia has not had a one-person-one-vote democratic election since 1969.

That vote was followed by a coup, dictatorship and conflict involving clan militias and Islamist extremists.

This is only the third time that the indirect election for president has been able to take place in Somalia itself. Previous ones were held in neighbouring Kenya and Djibouti.

How did the voting work?

This vote was supposed to have happened last year when Mr Farmajo’s four-year term ended. But political differences and instability delayed the poll and the president remained in power.

The MPs who chose the new president were themselves elected by delegates nominated by the country’s powerful clans.

They gathered in a large airport hangar in the well-guarded Halane Camp. This is the main military base of the AU’s mission in Somalia (Atmis), as well as the home of

diplomatic missions and aid agencies.

The voting, done by secret ballot, was delayed for hours due to lengthy security checks.

Past elections were marred by allegations of vote-buying with candidates reportedly offering money in exchange for support.

The only female candidate, former Foreign Minister Fawzia Yusuf Adam, was eliminated in the first round of voting.

What has al-Shabab said?

In previous elections, al-Shabab threatened and even kidnapped clan elders after condemning them for participating in what it saw as an un-Islamic poll.

This time around, its response to the elections has been more muted, with fears that its members or sympathisers may have secretly sought parliamentary seats in a bid to undermine the system from within

The fear was publicly expressed by neighbouring Djibouti’s President Omar Guelleh in 2020, when he was quoted as saying: “I fear we will end up with a parliament indirectly controlled by al-Shabab because they’ll have bought the support of some of the MPs.”

Some analysts felt Mr Guelleh was exaggerating the possibility of al-Shabab gaining a foothold in parliament, but there is no doubt that it is a major political force in Somalia.