The Electoral Commission (EC) has warned political party agents against the collections of ID cards of registered voters.
Deputy Commissioner of the EC in-charge of Corporate Services, Dr. Bossman Asare, served the caution in an address to the media on Monday, July 13, 2020.
Speaking during the third session of the Commission’s press briefing dubbed: ‘Let The Citizen Know,’ Dr. Asare said “It has come to the attention of the Commission that some agents of political parties at the registration centers collect the voter ID cards of applicants and take some details from the cards including asking for applicants’ phone numbers.”
“The Commission wishes to clearly state that this is not part of our electoral laws, and the agents of political parties should desist from doing that,” he stated.
He noted that the Commission has seen significant improvements in the adherence to the COVID-19 safety protocols, especially, social distancing.
“This has been achieved through the provision of chairs for queue management in all our registration centers. We are regularly liaising with our Regional and District Officials to ensure that all the protocols are adhered to by all our registration officials and applicants who visit our centers.”
“In spite of the progress we have witnessed, the Commission is still striving for perfection at all our centers,” he added.
“We are also appealing to the general public to abide by the protocols for the success of the registration exercise. We do expect all registrants to be at the centers in their face masks, health professionals will check their temperatures and ensure they wash their hands before they sit down.”
All centers also have sanitizers specifically for applicants, according to him.
All the registration teams have been provided with nonalcoholic wipes to wipe the fingerprint scanners regularly.
The Commission has provided additional chairs at all our registration centers to ensure social distancing, he indicated.
“The general public is entreated to inform the Commission about any lapses in our safety protocols for immediate redress,” he urged.
“The security personnel are also well aware of their role in ensuring safety at all the registration centers.”
“The general public is also advised not to give the voter ID cards issued to them by the Commission to the agents of the political parties at the registration centers,” he urged.
By Melvin Tarlue