Ineffective communication of the schedules for the biometric voter’s registration exercise has resulted in many people visiting registration centers, which are not part of the first phase of the exercise, slated for March 24 to April 2.
When the GNA went round to monitor the progress of the exercise some people said they had gone to the Kojo Bedu North Electoral Area of the Effutu Constituency, which was not part of the first phase.
New Winneba, which is about three kilometers away, is the only centre out of the four polling stations, which is participating in the first one.
At 0600 hours, some prospective registrants, visited the Ghana Highways Authority Yard Polling Station but became disappointed when they did find not the place being prepared for the exercise.
The exercise would take place at the Highways Station center on April 15.
Mr Isaac Clement, a resident of the Low Cost Electoral area, told the Ghana News Agency that he visited about three polling centers with the view of registering because he had to travel but did not see any sign of registration there.
He appealed to the Electoral Commission to intensify its education on the schedules for the respective centres in order not to discourage people who make an initial wrong move from following up at the right time.
Madam Salamatu Alhasan, also of the Low Coast Area, expressed concern about the poor communication on the schedules and urged the EC to step up the education.
Madam Amabedua, with her six sisters, who also went to Highway Polling Station, said they were disappointed when they realized that it was not part of the first batch.
Mr Ato Dampson and Mr Kwadwo Tetteh, other disappointed persons, urged the EC to ensure that the Information Service Department’s Van was used to educate people on when to go to their centres to register.
However, the EC has published the scheduled in the media.
Meanwhile, at centers where the exercise is taking place, most of the people in queues told the Ghana News Agency that it was moving very slowly because they had been in the queue for too long.
At the Don Bosco Primary School Polling Station in the Don Bosco-Sankore Electoral Area, Miss Naafifa Bellow, Registration Officer, said that as at 1040 hours only 15 people had been registered.
At the Traditional Council Polling Station at Ponkor Achire Electoral Area, the Registration Officer, Mrs Beatrice Blankson told the GNA that 18 people had been registered as at 0956 hours.
Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, EC Chairman, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that for operational purposes, the nationwide exercise would be carried out in four phases with each phase lasting a maximum of 10 days, weekends inclusive.
The EC Chairman said phase one of the registration exercise would start from March 24 to April 2; the second phase continuing almost immediately from April 4 to13; third phase from April 15to 24 and the final phase running from April 26 to May 5.
He said four polling stations would be combined to form a cluster of registration points and advised all Ghanaians of 18 years and above with sound minds to take advantage of the opportunity to register.
The EC Chairman said registration would be done at centres, which would serve as polling stations during elections; in line with the basic principle of where you register is where you vote.
Dr Afari-Gyan assured people with disability that the Commission had readied itself to register persons with disabilities to enable them to exercise their franchise in the 2012 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections.
He said:"If you are disabled, the machine will register you. If you have six fingers, the computer will register you, but if you have none, we will make special provisions for you.
As part of the registration process, prospective voters would be required to provide their exact date of birth, their current residential address as well as their hometown address.
Applicants will also be required to show evidence of eligibility to register by providing a birth certificate, valid passport, baptismal card, a valid driver’s license or a National Health Insurance card, the national ID card or the existing voter ID card.
The prints of all 10 fingers of applicants as well as their images would be captured digitally as part of the registration exercise.
In the event of an applicant having lost some fingers, the fingerprints of the available fingers would be captured.
Special arrangements have also been made for the registration of persons without fingers.
After the registration formalities, a registrant would receive a new voter’s ID card, which captures their photograph and a bar code with their unique ID card number.**
