A 50 year-old trader in Sunyani, Madam Augustina Amponsah Manu, encountered problems at a biometric registration centre as her finger prints could not be taken by the machine despite numerous attempts.
Her hands were washed and rinsed in foamy detergents but her fingerprints could not be taken, prompting some people in the queue to suggest she takes in a glass of “Akpeteshie” (local gin) to “re-ignite her cells” to make it possible for her fingers to become detectable.
Mrs. Manu however did not oblige to the suggestion, saying she could not take in the gin because she is a Christian.
Narrating her story to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at the weekend, Mrs. Manu said she had joined the queue at Methodist primary ‘B’ registration centre in Sunyani around 0700 hours only to be declared ‘ineligible’ by the machine, after several attempts and was subsequently asked by the officials to come back the following day.
She said the problem persisted the following day, compelling the EC officials to finally registering and issuing her the card based on consensus and endorsement.
Mr Francis Antwi, registration officer in charge of special duties at the centre confirmed the story to the GNA.
He explained that, Madam Manu’s case was peculiar, so they had to follow the due procedure of endorsing her form with an EC Official as a witness and issued with her voter ID card.
Mr Antwi entreated all eligible voters to participate in the exercise early to avoid rushing to the centres at the last minute.
She urged party agents as well as all eligible voters to exercise patience at the registration centres and to restrain themselves from pressurizing the EC officials to enable them to come out with an authentic and error-free register.**
