By Christopher Arko
Accra, Sept. 18 GNA – The Electoral Commission (EC) registered 182,831 voters in the first six days of the limited voter registration exercise.
Males account for 94,546 or 53.9 per cent of that number, while Females make up 84,285 of the registrants, representing 46.1 per cent.
Mrs Jean Mensa, Chairperson of the EC made the disclosure during a press briefing in Accra dubbed, “Let the Citizen Know”.
The exercise, which began on Tuesday, September 12 at all 268 District offices of the EC, is intended to allow those who have reached the age of 18 and adults to register to vote.
The target is to register about 700,000 voters at the end of the process.
A regional breakdown of the registered voters indicates that the Western Region recorded 11,644 (6.4 per cent); Western North, 6,491 (3.6 per cent); Central region, 17,590 (9.6 per cent); Greater Accra, 27,264 (14.9 per cent); and the Volta Region, 12,681, representing 6.9 per cent of registered voters.
The Oti Region registered 4,427 (2.4 per cent); Eastern Region, 19,327 (10.6 per cent); Ashanti Region, 29,255 (16 per cent); Bono Region, 6,580 (3.6 per cent); Ahafo Region, 4,244 (2.3 per cent); Upper East Region, 8,639 (4.7 per cent); and Upper West Region, 5,241 (2.9 per cent).
Mrs Jean Mensa further disclosed that the Commission’s budget and work plan for 2023, which parliament approved, called for long-term continuous registration rather than on an electoral basis.
She explained that in 2024, the EC would conduct registration at its district offices for several months to allow eligible Ghanaians to participate.
Mrs Mensa stated that the Commission would identify difficult-to-access locations and conduct a mop-up registration of voters in those areas using their data and that of the Statistical Service.
“This is not the only registration exercise prior to the elections in 2024.
“In line with our plan to promote an inclusive, participatory registration process, we plan to institute registration in all our offices nationwide for a considerable length of time in 2024,” she said.
GNA