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The Electoral Commission (EC) has requested GH¢1.2 billion to conduct the 2016 General Elections.

The Commission has also proposed an increase in the number of polling stations from 26,906 to 30,000.

The Chairperson of the EC, Mrs Charlotte Osei, who stated this on the floor of Parliament on Thursday, said the amount required for the 2016 polls did not include the cost for compiling a new voters register or the cleaning of the current one.
According to her, the Commission intended to train 152,000 election officials for the polls.

She said professors would be deployed to man coalition centres, whilst national service personnel and selected civil servants would be engaged for the polling stations.

Mrs Osei also revealed that moves to have the presidential and parliamentary elections held on November 7 were advanced with the EC liaising with the Attorney General to have the relevant constitutional provision amended to effect the change.

She said since the constitutional provision which stipulates that the elections be held on December 7 was not an entrenched one, the necessary legislative documents would soon be presented before the House to effect the change.

She said the change in date would make provision for the holding of run-offs in November as well.

Mrs Osei told the House that the EC was also proposing a law which would empower it to prosecute election offenders without the consent or authorisation of the Attorney General.