We spent GHS 40 on each voter in 2020 polls - EC

According to the EC, this is a reduction of almost about half of the 2016 presidential and parliamentary elections, which was about GH¢70, which was about 13 dollars, per voter.

This was disclosed by Mr Michael Boadu, Director for Training at the Electoral Commission in Accra on Friday.

He said the Commission made a total savings of GH¢523,409,980 or $90,243,100.

He said the reduction in the cost was achieved through stringent steps taken by the Commission to ensure transparent and fair procurement practices.

Mr Boadu said substantial savings were enabled by the procurement methods employed, which saw 95 percent of procurement done by an open-competitive tendering process.

“With the exception of the printing of ballot papers, which had security implications and the production of TV and radio adverts, all other procurements were done openly through newspapers.”

He said the COVID-19 pandemic hiked the cost of the elections with the EC procuring requisite Personal Protection Equipment (PPEs) for some 240,000 staff.

Mr Boadu noted that other PPEs such as sanitisers, handwashing stations, liquid soap, tissue paper, wipes and thermometer guns, were procured for all 38,622 polling stations during the entire registration period, exhibition and Election Day activities.

Mr Boudu said, “The material procured for the replacement of the voters’ register was for an estimated 18 million persons. In 2016, however, preparation was made for some three million persons,” he said.

“Again in 2020, the Electoral Commission used 44,067 registration officials over 38 days; over 71,734 exhibition officials for over 10 days and over 231,732 election officials for one day,” he said.