Electoral Commission officials in the Ashanti Region are urging political party representatives to use laid-down procedures when challenging the eligibility of applicants in the ongoing Limited Voter Registration exercise.
The officials say this is the only way to avoid confusion at the various centers, as the eligibility of some 370 applicants has been challenged so far in the region.
Ashanti Regional Director of the Electoral Commission, Benjamin Bannor Bio, also advised persons who are not eligible to stay away from the ongoing exercise.
“We have put measures in place to ensure that anyone who qualifies to register when you get there, they will register you. My only advice to the public is that if the person is not qualified, he/she should not come around for registration. If you do that and you are caught, we will hand you over to the appropriate authorities. However, if somebody is coming to register and you think that the person is not qualified, it is not by use of force.”
“You just go to the registration officer and then complete the challenge form. We have the district registration committee which is in place, and every party which is active in the district has a representative there. We have the district police command, district education director, someone from the traditional council, and the district officer serves as the secretary to the committee,” Mr. Bannor Bio stated.
Mr. Bannor Bio also denied reports that over twenty applicants were arrested in the Suame Municipality for eligibility issues.
“Suame, they have not been arrested. It is the 25 persons who have been challenged by some people that they did not qualify. In such situations, we do not forcibly push the person out. They are asked to fill out the challenge form and give the two parties a date and venue where they can go and meet the district committee. So those 25 persons were challenged and not arrested,” the Ashanti Regional Director of EC clarified.
The limited voter registration is targeted to register over 1.3 million persons who have turned 18 years old since the last registration exercise in 2020.
The 21-day exercise commenced on Tuesday, September 12, and is expected to end on October 2.
However, some Ghanaians have expressed concern over the slow pace of the limited Voter registration process.
A female registrant said, “Monday was my second day of coming here, but I’m yet to get my own. I hope surely God willing, I will get my own.”
“I have been here almost three hours, and it’s still not my turn. I’m waiting patiently. The police are cool with us today, but there were some misunderstandings with some people and the police,” a male registrant stated.
