EC blamed for low turnout over limited voter registration exercise

The Coalition for Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) has blamed the low turnout at the various registration centres across the country in the ongoing limited voter registration exercise on the failure of the Electoral Commission (EC) to adequately create awareness for the event.

Speaking in an interview with Oman News, National Coordinator of CODEO, Mr. Albert Kofi Arhin, said although the first day of many voter registration exercises in the country have been characterized by low turnout, yesterday’s situation could well be the result of a lack of education campaign.

“Publicity has been very low in this particular exercise. They [EC] have not come out [to do publicity]. In the first place they were late in coming out to do publicity. And then when they started, it was just on the radio and little bit on the television,” he observed.

In the Eastern Region, Kumwuramuhene Sampson reported that there were only few people in most of the centres he visited.

According to him, couple of the centres he visited had either registered 3 or 4 people at the time he was leaving.

Sampson said there was break down of some of the biometric registration devices.

At the Ashaiman Constituency in the Greater Accra our correspondent reported that only few people showed up to register.

Apart from the Happy Home School where some 23 persons were registered as at 2:40pm, all the other centres had registered less than 6 people.

Our correspondent reported that some prospective voters who showed up to register were turned back home because they either do not have requisite identification or guarantors.

A lady who spoke to Oman News at Ashaiman government school said she wanted to register to have the card for banking purposes.

In the Central Region, Joojo Blankson reported that turnout was low adding that there was confusion between representives of NDC and NPP in some of the registration centres over the age of some of the prospective voters.

At some polling stations in the Ahanta West Constituency in the Western Region, some people could also not register as the biometric verification machines developed faults.

In the Volta region, scores of first-time voters at the Ketu South and Anlo constituencies were unable to register due to a heavy rainfall which disrupted the exercise.

Mr. Kofi Arhin however said that the low turnout could also be because many Ghanaians usually prefer to go to such events at the last minute.

He advised the governing NDC and the main opposition NPP to call their agents to order as it raises questions with the conduct of their representatives at the limited voter registration centres.

He accused them for abusing the applicant challenge process.

"An example is at the Eastern Region where all 20 applicants who had come in the morning were challenged by the NDC and the NPP. So it looks that they were outdoing each other," Mr. Arhin said.

The law allows political parties to challenge the registration of a person if they suspect that they are minors or aliens.

Story by: Michael Creg Afful

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