The seven-day voter register exhibition exercise by the Electoral Commission (EC) is to create opportunity for all registered voters to check and verify their names in the national electoral roll to enable them to participate in the upcoming December general elections.

A visit to some of the exhibition centres by the Ghana News Agency on Tuesday August 20, 2024, the first day of the exercise, indicated a very low turn-out.

Some people, including political activists, EC officials and election watchers, who spoke to the GNA, said it could be due to the intermittent rainfall all day, which was associated with cold weather.

Others also attributed it to the usual Ghanaian attitude of waiting till the last minute to do things.

At the Asawase Post Office Exhibition Centre, less than 20 voters had verified their names as at 1330 hours when the GNA visited the centre.

At the Municipal Electoral Office exhibition centre at Nkawie, only 13 out of the 507 voters on the voters register verified their names on the first day of the exercise.

Twenty seven out of the 491 voters checked their names at the Nkawie-Kumaa Old Mosque exhibition centre one, 11 out of 290 checked their names at the Old Mosque centre two.

Mr. Yussif Samah, the Officer in-charge of the New Mosque exhibition centre, told the GNA that 40, out of the 409 voters verified their names on the first day.

At the Cooperative Centre, also at Nkawie, 41 out of 548 registered voters verified their names on the first day of the exercise, while the Nkawie-Kumaa old palace centre recorded 73 out of a total of 831 voters.

The atmosphere at the various centres visited was calm and peaceful.

Source: GNA

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The Kadjebi District Police Commander, Superintendent of Police, Frank Nana Asomaning, disclosed this at the Election Taskforce emergency meeting at Kadjebi in the Oti Region.

Supt. Asomaning asked the personnel to take the assignment as a national duty with diligence and tact.

He said it was temporary work, so they must endure for the good of Mother Ghana.

The 11-member Committee is comprised of the District Police Commander, the District Ghana Immigration Service Commander, the District Customs Service Commander, the District Electoral Officer, the District Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), the District National Ambulance Service Commander, and the District National Fire Service Commander.

The rest are the District Coordinating Director, the District National Investigation Bureau (NIB) Officer, and the District Crime Officer.

The meeting was called to brief members on the deployment plan.

According to the Electoral Commission (EC), Kadjebi District has 36 electoral areas with 115 polling stations.

The EC per a letter dated August 3, 2024, announced the exhibition of the Provisional Voter Register from the 20th to the 27th of August 2024 nationwide.

“The Commission encourages the public to participate in the Exhibition Exercise”.

Source: GNA

The Electoral Commission (EC) has stated that the exercise, which is being held across the country, will conclude on Tuesday, November 7, 2023.

The exercise aims to identify and correct errors in the new voter register system. During the exhibition, people can request actions such as the inclusion of omitted names and the removal of deceased voters from the register.

Speaking to Citi News after visiting some centres in the Korle Klottey constituency, Kwame Hagan, the Exhibition Officer at the YMCA centre, emphasized the importance of eligible voters taking the exercise seriously, as incorrect details on the day of voting could disqualify them.

“There are no consequences but it is advisable to come and check just in case. On the D-day, the election day, if you have challenges with your ID card, maybe your name, age, sex, or something, you won’t be allowed to vote.

That will be the consequence so it is better you come now because we have a seven-day exhibition. It is better you find a time, and then you come and check. If there are any mistakes, you let us know,” he stated.

Similarly, the EC’s exhibition of the electoral roll is receiving a very low turnout at various centers in the Northern Region.

As of 11: am, some polling stations had only six people visiting the centres to check and confirm their names.

An anonymous EC official attributed the low turnout to the lack of publicity regarding the verification process.

Additionally, the EC has not yet released the updated electoral roll for use in the 2024 elections.

Due to the absence of the new register, new voters who present their cards for verification are turned away, with the hope that the updated register will be made available before the conclusion of the five-day verification exercise.

Furthermore, the usual deployment of two Electoral Commission workers, with one responsible for the list of names and the other verifying the register with photos, has been altered.

Only one polling station officer has been deployed to each centre, raising suspicions among citizens of potential misconduct by the EC.

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The electoral management body announced on Wednesday that it will exhibit the provisional voters’ register from November 3 to November 7 at all 38,622 polling stations across the country.

During an interview on Citi FM, the Deputy Secretary of the NDC, Mustapha Gbande, said, “It is not about being happy. Why centralize registration for people to go through stress? The EC made the registration cumbersome.”

Despite these concerns, he emphasized that the NDC would not engage in further disputes with the EC regarding the voter register exhibition exercise and was determined to focus on mastering the electoral landscape to secure victory in the upcoming elections.

“That is the NDC’s position as far as this exercise is concerned. We have no objections to the exhibition they want to do. We will follow through, get people verified, and then we can move on to the district assembly elections.”

Mustapha Gbande, however, said that the NDC would not hesitate to raise red flags during the process if need be.

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The exercise which will end on Tuesday, November 7, 2023, precedes the District Level Elections (DLE) set for December 19, 2023.

Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, Deputy EC in charge of Operations, Samuel Tettey said the exhibition will take place at all 38,622 polling stations nationwide.

“As part of the Commission’s preparation towards the conduct of the district level elections slated for 19 November 2023, the Commission will display or exhibit the provisional voters register at all the 38,622 polling stations across the country.

“The Commission will therefore exhibit the provisional voters register simultaneously at all polling stations which will serve as exhibition centres throughout the country from Friday 3rd November to Tuesday 7th November 2023,” he announced.

Mr Tettey explained the exercise is to allow prospective voters to cross-check and verify their details.

“That is name, age, sex, etc as captured during the registration exercise, and make requests for amendments or insertions where necessary. It will also help voters to know their polling stations on the day of voting,” he stated.

Voters, Mr. Tettey added can also object to the names of unqualified voters on the register or request the removal of names of deceased persons.

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