EC: There are enough voter registration forms

Accra, May 9, GNA - The Electoral Commission (EC) on Tuesday assured the public that there are enough forms to register all newly qualified voters.

"We have enough forms at the regional and district offices to meet the demand of the exercise," Mr Hubert Akomeah, Head of the Information Technology Department, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Accra. He was reacting to reports of shortage of registration forms barely two days after the exercise started last Saturday.

Mr Akomeah said the temporary shortage of registration forms at some polling stations is the result of a rush by newly qualified voters at the weekend to be registered. He said the EC has 1.5 million voter registration forms for the 10-day revision exercise.

Mr Akomeah noted that next December's vote is very crucial in the history of the country. For that matter, all those who have attained the voting age and those who could not register during the last exercise have rushed to the polling stations. He said the EC has statistics on the registration pattern in the country but started with a "Cautious Distribution" of the registration forms as a control mechanism to avoid wastage at polling stations adding that led to the temporary shortfalls during the weekend.

The commission has directed all regional and district offices to send forms to polling stations to meet the inflow. Mr Akomeah denied reports that the shortage of the registration forms is a ploy to frustrate the youth who have turned 18 years.

Mr Samuel A. Yirenkyi, Greater Accra Regional Director, said in 1997 the commission registered 250,000 people throughout the country. However, Accra alone, at the end of Monday, had registered 94,000 and cautioned against double registration, which is an electoral offence punishable by law. He said the EC has started distributing more forms to all polling stations to cater for the influx of prospective voters.

Mrs Angelina Tagoe, district electoral officer for Osu, appealed to all those who have lost their Voter Identification Cards to report to the nearest district offices and not the polling stations.

Meanwhile, the EC says all those who have queries or complaints about the exercise should call the following telephone numbers: 22 79 11, 22 86, 52, 24 11 22.