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In the recently completed voter registration exercise, the Electoral Commission (EC) registered 910,996 new voters, with the majority of applicants representing 61.9% using the guarantor system.
Prior to the next District Level Elections, the Limited Voter Registration Exercise was conducted at each of the Commission’s 268 District Offices from Tuesday, September 12, 2023, through Friday, October 2, 2023.
Out of a projected 1.35 million people who were predicted to have turned 18 after the previous voter registration drive in 2020, the EC had projected enrolling 700,000 new applicants.
The Deputy EC Chair in Charge of Operations, Mr. Samuel Tettey, stated that the Commission was “very much satisfied” with the exercise’s results during a news conference on Tuesday in Accra.
He stated, “We projected registering 700, 000 voters, but we exceeded our target and registered 910,996 voters,” and he attributed the achievement to the steps taken by the EC to address the issues that surfaced at the beginning of the process.
The Greater Accra Region had 124, 166 registered voters, which was followed by the Ashanti Region, which had 148, 294 voters.
The remaining are: Western (55,886), Western North (31,483), Central (85,152), Volta (55,557), Oti (36,481), Eastern (92,780), Bono (31,932), Ahafo (22,203), Bono East (39,804), Savannah (21,754), Northern (66,510), North East (24,667), Upper East (43,641), and Upper West (20,656).
According to Tettey, out of 910 996 new voters, 61.9% of applicants used the guarantor system, 37.8% used Ghana Cards, and 0.3% used passports.
According to him, the Commission kept track of 9,720 challenged cases and gave notice that anyone who provided guarantees for more than 10 applicants in violation of the registration requirement will face legal action.
“We have data on applicants, who guaranteed for more than 10 applicants against the law. We will submit the details to the Attorney General for advice,” he said.
According to Tettey, 105,863 registered voters applied to transfer their ballots during the voter transfer window.
Outrage was generated by the EC’s plan to limit registration to its district offices due to concerns that qualified voters in remote areas could meet obstacles and be unable to register.
Due to issues with internet access, the registration process took longer than expected to get going, which resulted in crowded registration centers.
Tettey claimed that the difficulty with internet access that was experienced on the first day was “swiftly” remedied.
Only 10% of applicants registered offline, he claimed, while 90% registered online.
The EC, according to Tettey, is still in favor of gradually getting rid of the country’s registration process’s guarantor system because the current one “is fraught with abuse.”
The guarantor system “should be abolished sooner rather than later if we are committed to strengthening our electoral system,” he said.
He urged the government to give the National Identification Authority enough funding so that it could rapidly send cards to applicants.
Source: Ghanatodayonline.com
