EC pilots new voters’ register

The Electoral Commission (EC) yesterday commenced piloting arrangements for the new voters’ register in all 16 regional capitals, in the lead-up to the nationwide exercise to be conducted at over 33,367 polling centres later this month.

Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Sylvia Annoh, acting director of public affairs of the Commission, said the test run was to identify potential challenges and enable the EC’s technical team to address them.
Mrs Annoh said all Ghanaians of 18 years or above and of sound mind are expected to register when the exercise begins at the end of June.

She said there would be a three day mop-up for those who might not be able to register during the scheduled June-July period.

Applicants will be expected to present either a Ghanaian passport or a Ghana Card as proof of identity, or to have two guarantors to enable them to register.

“Persons who do not have the two specified [forms of] identification must resort to the guarantor option. Each guarantor or registered voter can guarantee for as many as ten applicants,” she said.

To ensure security for applicants, Mrs Annoh said the Commission has put in place various safety measures. She urged the public to observe these protocols.

Mrs Annoh said that, for instance, only 25 people, including registration officials, would be permitted at the registration centre at any given time. It will also be compulsory to wear a face mask before entering a registration centre.

Sanitised scanners

Each applicant’s temperature will be taken, and water and liquid soap provided for registrants to wash their hands before they can join a queue.

She said in practising social distancing, people in the queue will be required to maintain a minimum space of one metre between themselves and the next person.

All scanners would be sanitised with alcohol wipes before people’s fingerprints are captured, Mrs Annoh said. After that, those whose details have been captured will also be provided with hand sanitisers to clean their hands before they leave the registration centre.

Mrs Annoh said all EC officials will also be wearing appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), to ensure not only their own safety, but also the safety of all those going through the registration exercise.