Voters Registration: EC introduces Queue Management System to manage crowds at centres

The Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana has announced the institution of a Queue Management System (QMS) to deal with the issue of overcrowding at some Registration Centres in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area.

This comes on the back of reports of overcrowding and the lack of social distancing at the various registration centres in the Accra Metropolis.

Ghana’s EC began the compilation of a new register for the 7 December polls across the country on Tuesday, 30 June 2020.

The exercise is supposed to be done in phases.

Each phase is expected to span six days.

According to the EC, the decision to introduce the Queue Management System follows “the enthusiasm displayed by the citizenry last week, a number of Registration Centres in Accra witnessed very high numbers of applicants, thus, resulting in overcrowding at some Centres in the Greater Accra Metropolis.”

“Under the Queue Management System the first 150 applicants who arrive at the Registration Centres will be provided with numbered chits. The first half of this number will be served from morning to early afternoon. The second half will be asked to leave the Centres and return in the afternoon when the registration process for the first batch has been completed. They will then be served,” a statement issued on Monday, 6 July 2020, and signed by its Acting Director of Public Affairs, Sylvia Annor said.

The EC continued “this system will go a long way to reduce the long queues and help with the enforcement of social distancing protocols at the Centres” as the Commission “is keen to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus at all its centres.”

The statement added that the EC: “will continue to review and improve upon” its processes so as to ensure that “citizens register in a safe and secure environment.”

It further urged the general public to get back to the commission with “constructive feedback” to enable it improve on the “registration exercise which is already in motion.”