Limited voters registration starts but patronage low

First-time eligible voters have been given the opportunity to add their names to the electoral register as the Electoral Commission (EC) commenced its nationwide limited voters registration exercise yesterday.

The 10-day exercise for those  who have turned 18 years and  those who could not register during the last registration exercise, began at most registration centres from 7 a.m. and ended at 6 p.m.

Although  the exercise took off smoothly at most centres, patronage was generally low, but at some centres patronage was impressive.

 Patronage is expected to peak as the exercise progresses.

According to EC sources, about 1.2 million new voters were expected to be registered by the end of the exercise on Sunday, May 8, 2016.

Challenge forms

During a visit by the Daily Graphic to some of the registration centres it was observed that as of noon yesterday, most of the registration centres had recorded more than 20 new registrants.

Some of the centres visited were in the Klottey Korle, Ablekuma Central, Ablekuma South and Odododiodoo constituencies, all in the Accra metropolis.

It was observed that some prospective potential voters could not locate the registration centres, since signposts to the centres were not available.

At the Accra Polytechnic registration centre in the Klottey Korle Constituency, the supervisor, Mr Samuel Ato  Davies, said the exercise was going on smoothly.

He said 15 new voters had registered as of 12.30 p.m. and that even though challenge forms were available, no prospective voter had been challenged.

Security personnel and agents of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the other political parties were at the centres to monitor the exercise.

It was also observed that at some of the centres, about 20 prospective voters were in the queue patiently waiting for their turn to be registered.

No signpost 

At the Richard Akwei Memorial School centre in the Odododiodoo Constituency, for instance, the Daily Graphic chanced on some stranded individuals who were trying to locate their centres.

“We have been to about three centres that we know in the constituency but we cannot locate the particular registration centre where the exercise is taking place. Information on the whole thing is scanty and it is not helping,” Asana Mohammed told the Daily  Graphic.

Some of the centres, such as the John Wesley Methodist Basic School and the James Town Police Station, did not have any signpost to direct the first-time voters.

The signposts at a few of the centres were also misleading, as they pointed the wrong direction.

Invalid document 

On the issue of requirements for registration, some of the registration officers expressed concern over the fact that they had to turn away a number of potential voters due to invalid documents or no valid document at all.

“They are supposed to come in with valid documents prescribed by the EC, such as national identification cards or passports and not national health insurance cards,” Mr Kofi Badu, a registration officer at the Mateheko Two Boys centre,  said.

He said although a birth certificate was acceptable, the individual needed a guarantor, which most people refused to take along and so they were turned away, adding, “In some cases they came back with the guarantors to start the process.”

At the New Gbawe D/A 1 & 2 Primary School centre in the Weija/Gbawe Constituency where enthusiastic youth awaited their turn in a queue, a registration officer who spoke with the Daily Graphic, Mr Maxwell Pobi, said the only hitch was with the submission of one guarantor, instead of the prescribed two, by those who could not provide birth certificates as proof that they had attained 18.

Party agents who spoke with the Daily Graphic expressed misgivings about the slow pace of the registration, saying it appeared the officers were now getting familiar with the entire process.

Back-dated BVD

At the Riyald Islamic Basic School in the Ablekuma South Constituency, about 12 people who had registered earlier had to be called back for re-registration because the biometric verification device (BVD) had April 27, 2016, instead of April 28, 2016, as the date.

“We did not realise it  early until we had registered 12 people and so we had to call for a replacement and that delayed the registration process for some hours,” the registration officer, Mr Emmanuel Tagoe, explained.

He said it was easy for them to identify the 12 people to re-register again with the help of the members of the community.

At the Liberty Avenue, Vienna City, Park Cinema and Snaps Nursery centres in the Klottey Korle Constituency, the registration officers told the Daily Graphic that the processes had been smooth and turnout encouraging.

Dr Zanetor

Dr Zanetor Rawlings, an NDC parliamentary nominee for Klottey Korle, displayed her voters ID card after she had registered in the ongoing limited voters registration exercise

She was said to have registered at the Nyaniba centre.

The incumbent Member of Parliament for Klottey Korle, Nii Armah Ashietey, who was defeated by Dr Rawlings in the NDC parliamentary primary, has challenged her eligibility to contest on the ticket of the NDC.

He has filed a suit praying the Accra High Court to declare her election null and void, since she was not a registered voter at the time she contested the primary.

The case is pending.