Ghana’s Electoral Commission says it has taken the necessary COVID-19 precautions to ensure public safety as it commences the voter registration exercise on Tuesday, June 30, 2020.
The nationwide exercise will be conducted across 6,788 clusters simultaneously.
Chairperson of the Commission, Jean Mensa at a press briefing on Monday evening [June 29, 2020] ahead of the exercise said measures have been adopted to ensure registrants are safe amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
These measures, she said, are being taken to limit the spread of Coronvairus during and after the registration exercise.
According to the electoral management body, the safety protocols were arrived at after careful stakeholder consultations with the national COVID-19 team and the Ghana Health Service.
Here are the EC’s safety regiments to guide the compilation of the new voters’ registration exercise:
1. All registration centres will be set up outdoors and in open spaces, where schools, churches, and other such venues are used as registration centres, we will not set camp inside the school or church building. Our registration centres will be set up in open fields out of the school or church building.
2. We will not use a school or church building furniture. We will use the electoral commission’s furniture set up for use at registration centres.
3. Our furniture and fittings will continuously be wiped with alcohol-based wipes.
4. All people entering the registration centre or queuing to enter the registration centre will be required to wear a nose mask.
5. On arrival at the registration centre, every person’s temperature will be taken, using a thermometer gun. Persons with temperatures above 37. 8 degrees Celcius will be directed to the health personnel at the registration centres or the nearest public health facility. Special arrangements will be made for them to register.
6. The Commission will provide liquid soap and water with veronica buckets, for the mandatory washing of hands before joining the queue or entering the registration centre.
7. There will be strict adherence to physical distancing of at least 1m in the queue at all centres
8. Our fingerprint scanners will be cleaned prior to the capturing of the fingerprints of applicants using alcohol-based wipes.
9. Hand sanitizers will be provided for mandatory sanitizing of hands when leaving the stations.
