By Ewoenam Kpodo
Tokor (VR), May 07, GNA – Technical glitches have stalled the ongoing nationwide voter registration exercise at Ketu South’s registration centres.
Day one of the exercise had three centres set up at the Municipal Electoral Commission (EC) office at Tokor with a mobile registration team at Lotakor.
By midday, these centers could not capture one eligible applicant onto the electoral roll.
Mr Kofi Sakyi Boampong, Municipal EC Officer for Ketu South in an interview with Ghana News Agency (GNA) attributed the situation to technical challenges and hoped for early resolution to allow for a smooth process.
“We’ve not been able to register anybody since. We’ve started the process but because of what the IT people call technical challenges, we’re yet to issue a card to any applicant and we’re waiting for them to rectify same,” he explained.
He indicated that his office had everything and was ready for the exercise noting, in addition to the registration centres set up at the Tokor office of the EC, the mobile registration team would visit five other areas – Lotakor, Kpedzakope, Akporkploe, Taskcorner and Tagbato (spending two days at each centre) to register all eligible applicants there.
Ms Nina Semefa, an eligible applicant who had come a little before 1000hours and had been directed to sit down due to the challenges, was anxious to get captured to be able to exercise her franchise in the December polls.
Mr Derrick Atisu, told GNA that he came a few minutes after 0700hours and was yet to be issued with his card.
“This is my first time attempting to register and I am told there are technical challenges. I am eagerly waiting for the problem to be solved so I can finally go home with my Voter ID card.”
Agents from the two main political parties, New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) expressed varied concerns about the process.
“We are made to understand that the EC would use both offline and online systems for the process, but the online system has since failed yet the offline system is not being used. I will call on the EC to do the needed intervention,” Mr Cornelius Sablah of the NDC said.
Mr Sancho Akoussah of the NPP said they hoped the EC would rectify the challenges impeding the process although “from our observation since we came here around 0630hours, it seemed people (by the numbers) are not interested in this exercise.”
The first day of the exercise in Ketu South recorded just a few applicants turning up at the registration centres.
The ongoing nationwide exercise is being conducted as a mop-up to an earlier exercise in September last year, which many alleged could potentially limit the right of citizens to vote.
The EC from Tuesday, September 12, 2023 conducted a three-week limited voter registration exercise to register persons who have turned 18 years and above since the last registration in 2020 at its district offices nationwide – a departure from the old system where limited registration exercises were conducted at the electoral areas.
GNA