EC urges Ghanaians to kick out “bussed” hordes from voter registration
There have been reports of non-residents being bussed en masse to certain constituencies to register for voter identity cards
The Electoral Commission (EC) says Ghanaians have the right to stop anyone who is not a resident from registering for a voter ID card in any constituency.
The move follows complaints that people are being bussed from faraway areas to register in constituencies where they are non-resident.
The opposition National Democratic Congress last week accused the governing New Patriotic Party of bussing people to NPP strongholds to register.
Supporters of the two parties engaged in a scuffle over the same matter at Banda in the Bono East Region.
First they failed to reach an amicable resolution to their disagreement. Then the situation escalated, leading to the killing of a 28-year-old teacher trainee.
Unacceptable
Speaking on the matter, the EC’s director of elections, Serebour Quaicoe, condemned political parties involved in bussing supporters to register in other constituencies.
He noted that the same political parties sponsor the gerrymandering and yet complain if the fixing goes against them.
Dr Quaicoe therefore urged residents of the various communities to kick out anyone who is not from their constituency if they attempt to register for a voter ID.
“It has always been a challenge and the irony is that it is the same political parties that do that. So, why won’t they stop? If they will not stop, residents of the community must challenge the identity of such people,” he said.
“Bussing is not acceptable and the parties must stop it. If you see someone who is not a resident of the area and comes to register, as a Ghanaian you have a right to challenge and stop such people from registering.
“The laws of the country allow that.”
Over 7 million signed up
Meanwhile, the EC has revealed that over seven million Ghanaians have applied successfully for a voter ID.
Voter registration commenced over two weeks ago and is now in its fourth phase.
The Commission said after 16 days the Greater Accra and Ashanti Regions had recorded the largest turnouts: 1,524,600 people have registered in Greater Accra and the Ashanti Region had registered 1,319,498 people.
The Savannah and North-East Regions had recorded the lowest number of registrations, with 126,980 and 123,715, respectively.
E A Alanore
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