EC speedily resolves hitch at registration centre at Mamprobi

The Voters Registration exercise Tuesday got off to a bad start at the Gertrude Memorial Basic School Registration Centre at Mamprobi as the Biometric Verification Machine would not recognise applicants using the Ghana Card as proof of their identity.

This drew agitations from applicants possessing the card but the registration officers, after 0900 hours encouraged those who had registered with their passports to guarantee for them upon satisfying themselves that were Ghanaians.

Mr Joseph Lamptey, the Registration Officer, told the Ghana News Agency that said the machine was unable to recognise the Ghana Card, one of the two documents required by applicants to obtain the voter identification card.

"We have filled the forms for nine applicants but as of now, no one has been issued with the voter card," he said.

However, when the Ghana News Agency returned to the Centre around the noon, the problem had been resolved and the registration was proceeding smoothly.

At the Pentecost Church (1) IBE, Station, however, the process was ongoing smoothly despite an initial delay.

Mr Clement Zormelo, the Registration Officer, told the GNA that the exercise had delayed due to a faulty thermometer gun.

"We began the process at 0830 hours rather than the stipulated 0700 hours because we had a challenge with the thermometer gun and we couldn't allow the applicants to enter the perimeter until their temperatures had been taken as instructed by the Electoral Commission," he said.

He said the exercise had so far been smooth with five applicants successfully going through the process, adding that an applicant took an average of 10 minutes to complete the processes.

The Ghana News Agency’s (GNA) visit to some registration centres within the Ablekuma South constituency in the Greater Accra Region showed that the exercise had commenced and was going on smoothly.

Prospective voters have showed up in their number in queues in expectation of getting registered. The GNA gathered that some of them had showed up at the centres as early as 0300 in the early hours of the day to register. At the Mamprobi 2 Girls Junior High School, the exercise began a few minutes after 0700 hours, was progressing smoothly when the GNA visited.

Long queues had been formed, with some applicants sitting in wait to be invited into the perimeter.

Health personnel were also around to check the temperature of anyone who had come to register.

The same scenario was observed at the Sempe 4 JHS. However applicants were given numbers to regulate prevent overcrowding.

At all the centres, the GNA observed that all COVID-19 protocols were being adhered to.

All the centres had Veronica buckets with water, soap and tissue to ensure applicants observed the anti-COVID-19 hygiene protocol.

The voter registration exercise is expected to end on August 6, 2020, with the Commission, aiming to register about 16 million eligible Ghanaians nationwide.