EC’s plan to register Ghanaians stuck abroad out soon

The Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) has disclosed it will soon roll out a plan to register Ghanaians who have been locked up outside of the country as a result of the border closures.

The EC started the mass registration exercise on Tuesday, June 30, and is expected to end on Thursday, August 6 for the compilation of a new voter register.

But there are concerns by some Ghanaians who are stuck abroad who wish to register but for the closure of the borders as a result of Covid-19.

Speaking on TV3’s New Day, Head of EC’s Public Affairs, Sylvia Annor disclosed that a plan will soon be rolled out for that purpose, though she was unable to speak to the details as yet.

“I’m unable to immediately give you the plan of the EC but very soon I think we will roll it out,” she told presenter Berla Mundi.

As to whether the EC will take advantage of technology to register people online to avoid crowded registration centres as has been seen in the first two days of the exercise, Madam Annor responded in the negative, citing the electoral laws as a barrier.

“Remember that we have a law, we have a law on registration and for that matter we cannot go contrary to that law…the law does not give us the opportunity or the room to register online. We’re not there yet. For now we have to stick to E.I 91 and E.I 126,” she explained.

She said the reason the EC has put in place safety measures at the various registration centres is to prevent the spread of the virus, and that the security services are also supposed to help control the crowds.