Fire outbreak will not affect 2020 elections – EC assures

The Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana has assured that everything is on course for the 2020 elections despite an office being razed by fire.

The Greater Accra Regional Office of the election management body was engulfed in an inferno which caused significant damage to the property located at Sapeiman near Amasaman.

Old ballot boxes, used forms, and referendum materials as well portions of the storey building were destroyed by the blaze.

“Whatever has happened is not going to affect the conduct of the 2020 elections,” Acting Director of Public Affairs of the EC, Sylvia Annoh, told theghanareport.com.

She explained that an investigation was ongoing to determine the extent of damage and the findings will be made public.

She indicated that the fire outbreak occurred at about 2 am on Friday, August 14 and affected “obsolete items”.

The fire was detected by security official onsite who raised an alarm and called in personnel from the Ghana National Fire Service and the Ghana Police.

Four fire tenders from Kotoku, Amasaman, Nsawam and Abelemkpe were dispatched to the scene to douse the fire.

The last time fire razed an EC office was in August 2016 when fire burnt down two offices of the Electoral Commission (EC) at Ahafo Ano North in the Ashanti Region, destroying registration materials and gadgets.

Coincidentally, the incident happened in August, in an election year and also at dawn.

Two offices, the server room and the storerooms were burnt in a blaze that was detected around 3 a.m.

Other gadgets destroyed in that fire  were a Voting Management System device, which is used to send information to the headquarters in Accra, over 18 generators, filled registration forms, furniture, registrations cards, challenge forms, computers and forms that were submitted for proxy votes.