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EC considers reducing voting duration by an hour

The Electoral Commission (EC) is considering reviewing the voting duration downwards ahead of the 2020 elections to improve the security of the polls.

 The commission will discuss the idea of reducing the duration of the voting from 7 am to 4 pm to allow for the counting and coalition of results well before dark.

At the opening ceremony of an Economic Community of West African States-United Nations (ECOWAS-UN) workshop on Tuesday, the EC Chair, Mrs Jean Mensa, the Chairperson of EC noted that “the commission will discuss the idea of reducing the duration of the voting from 7am to 4pm to allow for the counting and coalition of results well before dark.

It was on sharing experiences and global practices on the prevention and mitigation of election-related violence.

Mrs Mensa indicated that “currently, polls start at 7am and end and close at 5pm, the casting of ballots may continue hours after the close of polls depending on the number of persons who were already waiting in the queue and the commission had observed that a lot of voters wait till the last hour to join the voting queues.

“The late resolution of voting and the casting of ballots, which poses grave danger to the security of ballots and the safety of electoral officers is a major concern for the commission, as a commission, we are not only keen to ensure a peaceful and conducive voting environment but we are keen to guarantee the security of the ballot and make every vote count.

“In this regard, one of the issues that has occupied our mind is the duration of voting, ultimately, we believe that this will lead to the early declaration of results and help to reduce the tensions and suspicions that manifest during the waiting period,” Mrs Mensa intimated. -citinewsroom.com

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