Voters exhibition exercise not encouraging in Tamale

Tamale, Oct. 10, GNA - With only a day left to end the exhibition of voters register in the country, the turn-out in Tamale Metropolis has not been encouraging as eligible voters continue to trickle in to check their particulars.

At "Ghana Legion" polling station in Tamale Central Constituency, since the exercise begun last Sunday only 111 people out of 558 registered voters had checked their names. Six people reported at the polling station to report lost identification cards (ID).

Mr Abdul-Gafaru Sualihu, Exhibition Official said the poor turn out was due to low publicity given to the exercise and urged the Electoral Commission to collaborate with the media to intensify education on the exercise.

At the Esther Day Care Centre, at Russian Bungalows, Mr Lawrence Apuri, Exhibition Official said 198 people out of a voter's register of 683 as at Friday come to check on their particulars. At the Inter-Royal polling station in Tamale North Constituency 346 people out of a total register of 734 had checked on their particulars. Mr Ransford Bayisi, Exhibition Official said two people came with their ID cards but their names were not in the voters register while some relatives came to remove names of four deceased people. At the State Housing Corporation polling station 203 people had checked on their names over the past four days out of a voter's register of 960 people.

At the Kalpohin SS polling station, Mr Salia Baba, Exhibition Official said out of 1,146 registered voter's only 280 had checked on their particulars.

However, at Kalpohin Home Science Block polling station turnout was very encouraging as 558 eligible voters out of a registered voter population of 770 had checked on their particulars. Mr Sule A. Imoro, Exhibition Official attributed the high turn out at the station to the fact that family heads in the area brought all their family members to check on their names. He said a major problem being encountered was that some of the eligible voters especially women, either used their husbands' or fathers' names during the registration but came to verify their particulars with different names.