A private legal practitioner, Samson Lardy Anyenini, has opposed calls for sanctioning electorates who voluntarily disclose the candidates they voted for. He explained that while a person’s vote is meant to remain private, the law ensures the secrecy of voters' choices and punishes election officials who fail to protect that privacy.Mr.

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Anyenini emphasized that the constitutional rule about vote secrecy is intended to protect voters, and it is the responsibility of election organizers to ensure that no one can see how a person casts their vote."If I voluntarily disclose my vote, I cannot be punished for voluntarily disclosing my vote," he emphasized on Joy FM's Super Morning Show on Tuesday.

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His comments come after the public display of ballots during Monday’s Special Voting exercise, which involved thousands of security personnel, journalists, emergency service staff, and EC officials in 14 out of 16 regions.The National Democratic Congress raised concerns about the incident, claiming it undermines the secrecy of the ballot and could potentially influence the integrity of the process.

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 There have been similar instances in the past and in December 2023, police at the Tamale Central constituency arrested an elector for taking photographs of their ballot paper after casting their vote, which is considered an electoral offence. The vote was declared spoiled.

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Under the Representation of the People Law, 1992 (PNDCL 284), it states: "Any election officer who, directly or indirectly, reveals the vote of any voter or fails to maintain the secrecy of the ballot as required by this Law, commits an offence and is liable, on summary conviction, to a fine, imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or both.

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"Article 49 under Chapter 7 of Ghana's 1992 Constitution states: "At any public election or referendum, voting shall be by secret ballot, and the result of the election or referendum shall be declared by the returning officer as soon as practicable after the close of the poll."

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