By Bertha Badu-Agyei/Emelia B. Addae
Koforidua, Sept. 14, GNA – Mr. Kofi Asante Owusu, the Electoral Commission (EC) Officer for New Juaben South Municipal, has urged the people in the area to maintain peace and ensure order in the ongoing limited voter registration process.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Koforidua, he emphasised the crucial role of community cooperation and voter turnout towards guaranteeing the accomplishment of the EC’s mission.
He stated that all logistical aspects of the exercise remained intact, and urged individuals, who have turned 18 and above to participate in the national voter registration exercise at the EC’s district office in Koforidua.
The EC kicked off the limited voter registration exercise on September 12, 2023, with a scheduled conclusion on October 2, 2023. The rollout is underway across all 268 district offices in Ghana.
“Persons who have attained the age of 18 years since the last registration exercise and those who, for one reason or another, did not register in 2020 should visit the district office where they reside with either their Ghana Card or their Ghana Passport,” the Commission said.
“Eligible applicants who do not possess any of the identification documents listed above are required to present two (2) persons who are already registered voters to guarantee their registration,” it added.
Scores of people who have attained 18 years thronged the premises of the New Juaben South EC to register ahead of the District Assembly level elections slated later this year.
As at 1100 hours on the second day of the exercise when GNA visited the centre about 60 people, notably students had queued waiting their turns to go through the process whiles about 10 people had already registered.
Mr. Owusu said the process took off smoothly on the first day of the exercise without any hitch, however, rains nearly marred the exercise around midday when the applicants had to leave the centre, with the EC able to register 35 persons and successfully issuing them with cards.
The limited voter registration forms part of the preparations towards the conduct of the country’s crucial presidential and parliamentary elections in 2024.
Meanwhile, youth from Akohia and neighbouring villages in the Upper Manya Krobo district of the Eastern region voiced their concerns regarding the inadequate road infrastructure.
Their concern rose from the fact that people in those communities would have to walk for roughly one and a half hours to reach the Asesewa township where the limited voter registration process is taking place.
Mr. Samuel Tetteh, a resident of Akohia, expressed worry in an interview with the Ghana News Agency on Wednesday over the poor motorised roads and a lack of reliable telecommunication network services interrupting the registration process.
He said these infrastructural limitations were having a detrimental impact on the lives of the local youth, hindering their progress and impeding overall development in communities in the district.
He urged the Department of Feeder Roads to tackle the road transport system decisively.
He also called on telecommunication network operators to further improve connectivity to allow future registration activities to procedure uninterrupted.
GNA