By Rosemary Wayo
Tamale, May 7, GNA-The registration of first-time voters at the Tamale Metropolitan office of the Electoral Commission (EC) faced significant technical challenges, which led to delays in the process till midday.
The process, which was scheduled to begin at 7:00 hours, began around 12 noon.
Mr Bismark Nteh, Tamale Metropolitan Director, EC, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), said “the system started working some few minutes to 12. So, we began the exercise by 12pm”.
He explained that while officials could successfully access the system and capture photographs of the applicants, the system malfunctioned, preventing the recording of applicants’ particulars.
The EC Director indicated that the technical hitch was a nationwide challenge, which had been resolved by the engineers as assured by the EC headquarters.
He added that the process had since been smooth with 15 people registered as of 13:20 hours.
Mr Nteh said aside petty arguments among political parties over overcrowding at the registration desk by people who accompanied applicants, there were no challenges to hinder the process.
The Limited Voters’ Registration is scheduled to take place across the country from May 7 to 27.
This is to register first time voters to enable them to exercise their franchise in coming elections.
Meanwhile, applicants at the registration centre were calmly seated and waiting for their turn at the time the GNA visited.
Some individuals who shared their experiences at the centre, said they arrived early to undergo the process, only to be informed that they had to wait due to non-functional machines.
GNA