Accra, May 6, GNA - The revision of the voters' register began throughout the country on Saturday with the Electoral Commission (EC) projecting that about 600,000 new voters would be added during the 10-day exercise.
Mr David Kanga, Deputy Chairman of the EC, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview in Accra before embarking on a tour of registration centres in the metropolis that normally about 250,000 people are expected to be registered annually. He said the Commission is not expecting queues or problems during the exercise. He explained that the EC has projected 600,000 because it has not reviewed the register for the past two years.
The exercise is also for those who have already registered to check their names and the deletion of the names of those who have died. Those who have lost their voter identification cards are to report to EC officials while those who have changed residence should transfer to new polling stations.
There are about 9.2 million voters in the present register. Mr Kanga said the EC has prepared and is ready for the exercise, adding that all materials needed have been dispatched to the regions and districts for a smooth take-off and success of the exercise.
At the registration centres visited by the GNA, mostly young people of voting age were busily seen going through the registration processes. There were queues but the atmosphere was peaceful and relaxed. New voters were issued photo identity cards. Some of them told the GNA that they were happy they had reached the voting age of 18 years and were anxiously waiting to vote in December.
At the former Local Government School in the Ablekuma Central Constituency, the turnout was impressive. An officer of the EC, Ms Martha Acquah, told the GNA that only new registration was being carried out on Saturday. She said voters whose identity cards were missing would be attended to later because of Saturday's busy schedule. She said materials and logistics had been supplied.
