EC holds IPAC ahead of the voters registration exercise

With six days to the start of new voter registration, the Electoral Commission (EC) on Wednesday held an Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting to apprise the stakeholders on the registration exercise.

Representation was made by all political parties and this time the National Democratic Congress (NDC) was represented by Mr Osei Kwame Griffiths, the Director of IT for the NDC, Mr Bede Ziedeng, Director of Elections for the NDC.

Issues discussed amongst others included bussing of party supporters to polling centres, falsely vouching for people, encouraging the registration of minors and the training of polling agents.

Briefing the media at the end of the meeting Mr Bede Ziedeng said, the meeting was a success but there were some lingering issues, which the Commission could not adequately answer.

He said the Commission might not be able to complete the process involved in the registration before the elections.

Mr Ziedeng said the current estimate of the biometric registration kits pegged at an average of 100 per day would not be able to register areas with higher populations.

However, Mr John Boadu, the General Secretary of the NPP, and Mr James Kwabena Bomfeh, the Acting General Secretary of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) were of the view that the meeting was a success and were prepared for the registration exercise that is scheduled to commence from June 30 to August 6.

Dr Serebour Quarcoo, the Director of Elections at the Commission, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, said per the cluster system to be adopted, the exercise would start simultaneously at the same time in every district.

He said five polling stations per cluster would form phase one and would start from June 30 to July 5, followed by phase two.

Reacting to the concern raised by the NDC on the number of registrants a day, which was estimated at an average of 100 voters, Dr Quarcoo said the machine had the capacity to register up to 250 per polling station.

He said to conform to the anti-COVID-19 precautionary measures the polling stations have been increased from 29 000 to 33,367.

Dr Quarcoo said the Commission would finish compiling the voters’ register in August once the data from the field have been submitted.

“The last three weeks in August and the first two weeks in September will be used to do adjudication and printing of the provisional register. The mandatory exhibition will continue in September and it will go for validation, “he said.

He said the nomination would be done in early October and would be followed by the elections in December adding that the process would be completed 60 days clear to elections date.

Dr Quarcoo said the Commission was committed to registering every Ghanaian who qualified and availed themselves at the registration centre.