The Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has declared that the Minority in Parliament will vehemently oppose any efforts by the Electoral Commission (EC) to eliminate the use of indelible ink in the 2024 polls.

The EC recently disclosed plans to discard the traditional practice of applying indelible ink to voters' fingers, a method aimed at preventing multiple voting, in favor of more "modern" verification methods.

EC Chairperson Jean Mensa clarified that indelible ink would not be necessary in district-level elections and subsequent polls as part of ongoing efforts to enhance the electoral process.

Expressing strong dissent against this decision, Dr. Ato Forson emphatically stated during a parliamentary session on February 6, 2014, "Mr. Speaker, we will not countenance the elimination of indelible ink from the electoral process. We will not! Read my lips, we will not! Touch wood, we will not."

The Minority Leader argued that the use of indelible ink in elections has stood the test of time in identifying voters, emphasizing that it would be a mistake for the EC to abandon this established practice.

He asserted that indelible ink contributes to the integrity of elections by ensuring visible, transparent, and physical verification alongside biometric verification.

Dr. Ato Forson underscored the importance of indelible ink, stating,

“The truth of the matter is that the use of indelible ink in our electoral process does no harm to the conduct of free and fair elections in Ghana. In fact, indelible ink adds another layer to the integrity of elections by ensuring that voters are visibly, transparently, and physically verified in addition to biometric verification.

Indelible ink has not only become a feature of our elections in the Fourth Republic, but it is also a time-tested method of easily identifying persons who have already cast their ballot and therefore helps to prevent multiple voting.”

He emphasized that indelible ink has become a consistent feature of elections in the Fourth Republic and serves as a proven method to easily identify individuals who have cast their ballots, thereby preventing multiple voting.