The Electoral Commission (EC) has disclosed individuals who have been stranded abroad due to Covid-19 will be given an opportunity to have their names captured in the new voters’ register.
In an interview, the Director of Electoral Affair at the Commission, Dr. Serebour Quaicoe said, such persons will be given the chance once the country’s borders are open.
“We will have a program for the people outside the country. So anytime the person comes and wants to be registered, we will register the person,” Director of Electoral Affairs at the Commission”.
Although the official registration of persons are over, save the mop-up being conducted in district offices, not all persons were able to have their names captured, especially with Ghanaians locked up abroad due to Covid-19 and the closure of the country’s borders.
That notwithstanding, the EC says it will open up the register for such persons to have their names captured when the borders are open, but they will be unable to vote if they register less than 50 days to the elections.
“We should bear in mind that the law says ‘if you register less than 50 days to an election, you cannot be part of that election”.
Data from registration justifies call for new voter’s register
Meanwhile, the Electoral Commission has justified its call for a new register, revealing that, data from its just ended nationwide registration exercise justifies its push to have a new electoral roll compiled.
Speaking at a press briefing, Deputy Chairperson, Dr. Bossman Asare said the Commission has registered about 16.6 million persons during the exercise.
This, he stated, is consistent with data from the Ghana Statistical Service regarding the total number of Ghanaians above the age of 18.
“According to the Ghana Statistical Service’s estimates, Ghanaians who are at least 18 years are 17,624,686, which is approximately 57% of the estimated population of almost 31 million”.
“This means the numbers we are on track to register are well within the threshold of those who qualify to vote,” he said.
Dr. Asare, Deputy Chair in charge of Corporate Services, said the Commission will organize a mop-up exercise during the weekend for people who were unable to register in the timeline that had been given.
“Since the Commission has announced the mopping up of the exercise on Saturday and Sunday, the protocols will still apply at all the district offices of the Commission to protect applicants and our officials”.
