By Muniratu Akweley Issah
Accra, Sept 12, GNA – Mr Osei Kwadjo, Registration Officer at the Ledzokuku Municipal Registration Centre, has disclosed that the guarantor system was impeding the progress of the Limited Voters Registration exercise, which commenced today.
The Electoral Commission has begun the registration of the Voter Identification card for persons who had turned 18 years and above and for persons who could not register during the registration exercise.
The Ghana Card is the sole identity for the Registration and persons who do not have the card would need two registered persons to guarantee them for the registration.
Mr Osei stated that a considerable number of applicants were opting for the guarantor system, which was holding down the registration process.
He said the requirements for house numbering and digital address were also contributing to the slow pace of the registration process in the area.
At the Ledzokuku Municipal Assembly registration centre, hundreds of people, largely young people, had lined up to register.
According to the Registration Officer, 30 of the 40 applicants used the guarantor system to register as of 1000 hours, whilst 10 used the Ghana card.
“The guarantor system is delaying the process. If applicants have the Ghana card, we will only fill the form 1A, but without it, we must fill the guarantor form separately before filling the applicant form which takes too much time.
“Information flow has been difficult. Some of them do not know their house address so we probe and get a landmark to help with the process. Additionally, the registration equipment also broke down in the early hours of the day due to poor network and contributed to the delay of the process,” he said.
However, the registration exercise has been smooth so far. The Police have also done their bit to control the large crowd.
Political party representatives were also present to ensure a smooth registration exercise.
Mr. Jonathan Adjei Adjetey, the constituency Youth Organizer for the New Patriotic Party, encouraged persons above 18 years to take advantage of the exercise to acquire a Voter Identification card.
Elizabeth Nkansah, a polling agent for the National Democratic Congress expressed worry about the slow pace of the exercise due to poor network, saying, “Today is just the first day and we are experiencing this already.”
Political party representatives were reportedly mobilising applicants from their homes to register and prepare for the impending District Level Elections
The registration officials anticipated that about 100 applicants would be able to register by the end of the day.
GNA