Anxious voters in Accra forfeited sleep to queue

The long-awaited day is finally here, Friday December 7, 2012. Officially, the opening of polls was scheduled for 0700 hours on but in effect the exercise began much earlier for a good number of voters, particularly in the Accra-Tema area.

Most prospective voters hardly had a good night’s sleep, as some who were interviewed by the GNA at polling stations stretching from Sakumono Estates, Teshie-Nungua and Osu to Dome-Kwabenya early Friday morning said they had started queuing at about 01.30 hours the previous night.

One potential voter, a middle-aged man who would not disclose his name, said much as he tried to sleep last night, thoughts about the elections would not go away, “so I just got up and came to queue”.

From the long queues that were already formed in the wee hours of Friday morning, it was clear that lots of people are gripped with anxiety about today’s elections. Also evident is the urge to get it done and be free.

At the Musuku Presby Church Polling Station in the Dome Kwabenya Constituency in the Greater Accra Region, a voter, Mr Kojo Bempa together with his wife told GNA they wanted to be the first to cast their vote and so they went to the centre at 0350 hours.

Mr Bempa said after casting the vote he was going to attend to other duties before coming back to listen to the results later in the day.

GNA observed that there were no hitches as voters went through the various process to go through the biometric register and check their names for voting.

Though the queues were huge, prospective voters told the GNA they were not perturbed because voting was a right as well as a national duty which they needed to perform.

For instance Kwadwo Asare, a 24 year old first voter was very happy that he was taking part in the exercise.

“As a student living outside my constituency, I never had the opportunity to vote in the previous elections though I was qualified to do so, I am therefore happy to be part of the exercise this time.

Madam Esi Abokuma, who is 75 years, was not left out of the exercise, and because of her age, she was giving a seat to rest for sometime before voting instead of joining the queue and she was grateful for that.

Ingenious as Ghanaians are, some prospective voters carried plastic chairs to the polling centres so they can sit comfortably as they await their turn to cast the ballot.

So far the atmosphere in all the centres visited is one of calm tranquility, but also charged with anxiety as the queues continue to increase in length.

Streets in the capital city are deserted, making it possible for a motorist to commute from Sakumono to Accra Central in 38 minutes, a journey that would have taken not less than one-and-a-half hours at the very least, on a normal working Friday morning.

Polling officially ends at 1700 hours. All voters in queues before 1700 hours would be allowed to vote.

The security details at the polling centres are expected to join the end of the queues when it is time to ensure that nobody else joins in after the close of the polls.

Counting would start at the polling centres after the last voter has gone through the process.

The first results are expected late on Saturday night or early Sunday morning.

The Electoral Commission expects all results to be declared within 72 hours.