Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, former Chairman of the Electoral Commission of Ghana, has emphasized the need for integrating technology into the collation process instead of establishing numerous collation centres.
According to him, by leveraging technology, such as electronic collation systems, the Electoral Commission can streamline and enhance the accuracy and efficiency of result collation. This would minimize the risks associated with manual processes and reduce the likelihood of deliberate manipulation or errors.
Dr. Afari-Gyan urged the Electoral Commission (EC) to reconsider the current practice of setting up multiple collation centres in the election management process. He expressed his concerns about the potential negative consequences associated with this approach, as each centre becomes susceptible to intentional manipulation or unintentional errors during the electoral process.
Highlighting the risks involved, Dr. Afari-Gyan explained, “Every collation centre represents a potential point for deliberate manipulation or inadvertent mistakes. Additionally, the greater the number of collation centres, the more challenging it becomes to track changes and verify results.”