Ghana card registration takes shine from Assembly elections

It has been a sad tale juxtaposing polling stations for the District Level Elections side by side the Ghana Card Registration centers with the latter outnumbering the former with overwhelming majority.

In polling centers monitored by reporter Ivan Heathcote – Fumador by 3 o’clock, electoral officers were caught lazying in their seats with little to do.

At the Bantama Pentecost A polling station, the presiding member Gabriel Asiedu who was expecting 690 electorates had only recorded 83 voters.

He was concerned, “Unlike the general elections, people do not attach so much importance to these elections because they think it is not important.”

At the Malaga Internet Cafe Electoral Area in the Akwatia line community, the presiding member Samuel Adu had only seen 87 voters out of some 690 registered voters.

The situation was the same at the Border Guard polling station in the Asawase Constituency 172 people had voted out of the 572 persons on the electoral roll.

Meanwhile, in all Ghana Card Registration Centres mounted by the National Identification Authority, people didn’t mind joining the long queues to get their cards.

Some of the electorates who spoke to reporter Ivan Heathcote – Fumador, blamed the situation largely on the refusal of successive governments to declare the days for district level elections, a holiday.

A young man, Abdul Wahab Mohammed explained, “Today is a working day and someone will just say why should I even go and vote when I don’t see any impact of these assembly members in our area. Suppose it was a holiday, people will come out and vote.”

An aspirant in the Akwatia line electoral area Ali Ahmed admitted, "You know today being a working day most of the people are gone to their workplaces. We are only hoping that they will come and vote after work.”

The elections in the Ashanti region have largely been peaceful with a few skirmishes recorded at the Dichemso Electoral area and some arrests of some persons who were in possession of electoral materials at Sewaba in the Asokore Mampong Municipality.

The Ashanti Region has a total of 5,671 polling stations with 4,197 aspirants contesting as Assembly Members with 8821 aspirants contesting for the UNIT Committee membership slots.

Twelve polling stations out of the number have candidates who will run unopposed.

Elections have been postponed in three Electoral areas following nomination issues in those areas.