The Ghana Education Service (GES) has warned political parties to refrain from campaigning in school premises as the Electoral Commission (EC) extends the voter registration exercise to students in school.
Public Relations Officer of the GES, Cassandra Twum Ampofo, in a Citi News interview said school heads were expected to ensure the strict protocols are followed during the voter registration.
“We don’t want students stepping out with flimsy excuses. That is why we have made that special arrangement for them, we’ve been in touch with heads of senior high schools and they are on campus representing the Director-General of the GES in a way within their own jurisdiction.”
“So we expect that the heads, the assistants, and the teachers all ensure that the process is smooth and we don’t have any politicking. In fact, that is not allowed already they know that such activities are not allowed and they are to ensure that this time nobody is allowed to do that,” the GES spokesperson said.
The EC started registering eligible students in senior high schools today [Friday] onto the electoral roll.
After consultation with the Ghana Education Service, the Commission allocated two days, July 10 and July 11, to go to senior high schools and register students.
This registration will take place in all Senior High Schools that do not have polling stations within them.
The EC, also said additional days will be announced if it becomes necessary to ensure that all eligible applicants are registered.
This decision was communicated to political parties after an emergency Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting on Thursday, July 9, 2020.
There were initial fears that eligible some of these students would be disenfranchised prompting this development.