The ongoing registration exercise by the Electoral Commission (EC) has captured a total of 2,216,141 registrants who have instantly received the voter card across the country.
The first in the weekly update made available by the commission puts the Greater Accra Region in the lead with a tally of 427,039 registrants across the various registration centres.
Following on the heels of the Greater Accra Region is the Ashanti Region which posted a total number of 423,998 registrants during the first week.
At the bottom during the first week is one of the newly created regions, Oti Region, which had a total number of 38,551 registrants.
By the end of the month-long exercise, there would be no confusion or even doubts about the IT-driven gathering of details and totals.
The Eastern Region recorded 215,616 registrants as the Central Region had 202,036, with the Western Region hauling 145,741.
The Volta Region registered 139,968 persons, Northern Region, 121,818, and Bono, 94,834, as the Bono East Region registered 84,572.
In the Upper East Region, 71,526 registered as the Upper West did 69,909, with the Western North Region getting 64,199.
In the Ahafo Region, 44,640 persons were registered, while the Savannah Region registered 43,632, with North East Region doing 37,024.
Of the total number of persons registered in a week those who used Ghana Card as source documents constituted 68.9%, Guarantee Forms, 28.8% and Passports, 2.3%.
2nd Week Movements
There is a heightened media announcement about the movement of the commission’s registration teams at the various centres across the country. The second week has especially ushered in novel arrangements in response to emerging challenges.
For instance, in the Greater Accra Region, registration centres with noted overcrowding would have the numbering system applied after the first batch of 150 persons is served.
This, according to a statement from the commission, is to ensure that the social distancing protocol is not breached.
The overwhelming enthusiasm for the registration has led to overcrowding at some centres in the Greater Accra Region, something which the commission is set to reverse to ensure the safety of applicants.
The commission is listening to the concerns of Ghanaians something which is evident in its swift reaction to developments.
Bad Nuts
Two temporary staff members of the EC in the Sagnarigu Constituency in the Northern Region have had their appointment revoked after they were found to possess a large number of EC Guarantors Forms.
In a 6th July 2020 correspondence headlined ‘Dismissal of Three (3) Temporary Electoral Officials of the Electoral Commission’ reference is made about the formal notification of the theft of eight Form IA Forms from its District Office at the Sagnarigu Municipality.
The theft on the heels of an arrest in the Bono Region by the NPP Regional Chairman, Kwame Baffoe, aka Abronye, of a man found to be in possession of the EC’s Guarantee Form which is used to support applicants who do not possess a passport or the Ghana Card to support their application.
In the case of Sagnarigu, the forms were stolen by a polling agent of one of the political parties whose name was given as Alhassan Abdullahi Mohammed who has been apprehended by the police.
The EC has stated that the suspected will be ‘dealt with in accordance with the law.’
A statement on the subject adds that “the commission has, however, taken steps to dismiss the three (3) Temporary Officials who were manning the registration kits at the District Office in the Sagnarigu Municipality.”
Assurance
The commission has assured the public that “it will not shield staff members – permanent or temporary – who engage in misconduct during the voters registration exercise.”
The public has been enjoined by the commission to draw its attention to any act by staff which constitutes violation of the protocols governing the registration exercise.
The border areas, especially those bordering Togo, have witnessed a flurry of breaches by syndicates ferrying into the country foreigners to register in the ongoing exercise.
Many have been arrested and currently in the hands of the police prior to appearance in court.
With three weeks before the end of the exercise and therefore more updates ahead Ghanaians would be primed with important details for analysis of the electoral process more so since the country has created new regions.
Political analysts would be interested in knowing which regions will post more names on the new voters’ register.
By A.R. Gomda