Election 2020: 542 names cannot be found on final register, EC apologises

The Electoral Commission (EC) has disclosed that the details of 542 persons who registered during the just-ended registration exercise cannot be found on the final register.

Addressing journalists on Monday, November 30, 2020, on the final voters register for the 2020 presidential and parliamentary elections, EC Chairperson, Jean Mensa, said following the voters exhibition exercise, the Commission reviewed the electoral roll and took steps to reconcile the number of persons who actually registered with the number of persons reflected in the final register.

“We relied on the end of day reports generated by the Biometric Voter Registration Kits and compared the actual number of Registrants on the End of Day reports to the Provisional Voters Register.

“At the end of the day, it was revealed that 542 persons had registered but were not captured on the Register,” the EC Chairperson said before proceeding to apologise to the affected persons.

“We apologise for the inconveniences caused to these persons and wish to assure them that they will be provided with the opportunity to vote. They will be manually verified, and the Commission will send their details and Form 1A and 1C’s to the Polling Stations where they registered. They will not be denied their right to vote,” Jean Mensa stated.

She has promised that the names of the affected persons will be published on the Commission’s website and at its district offices throughout the country.

The Commission also revealed that some 233 persons were also placed in wrong Polling Stations in the final electoral roll.

“These persons have also been added to the Missing Names List at the Polling Stations where they originally registered. They will be provided with the opportunity to vote and will be verified manually using the Manual Verification Forms.

In total, the list of missing names who will be given the opportunity to vote stands at 830 persons across 38,622 Polling Stations.

Ghanaians go to the polls on December 7, 2020, to elect a President and Members of Parliament.

Eleven political parties and one independent candidate are billed to contest the upcoming elections but the race will largely be between incumbent President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and John Dramani Mahama of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).