Sunyani (B/A) Dec. 28, GNA - The excitement and enthusiasm of voters during the December 7 general election was virtually absent in the Presidential run off, when the GNA went round the polling stations in the Sunyani municipality and some other parts of Brong Ahafo. Not many voters were seen in queues when voting started at 0700 hours but the exercise was being conducted in a peaceful and orderly manner at the centres so far visited by the GNA. Polling agents, CODEO observers and security personnel were all at post and very alert.
As at 0855 hours 319 voters out of a total of 1,561 eligible voters had cast their ballots at Mmeredane JSS Polling Centre in Sunyani East Constituency. The Presiding Officer, Mr Siaw Bismark, described the exercise "as peaceful without any problems", adding that, there were enough materials for the exercise. He said about 100 voters had already formed a queue ready to exercise their franchise even before the exercise was officially commenced. There were 71 voters on the transfer list.
At the Ministry of Agriculture Plant Polling Centre in the same constituency, 187 people out of 950 total voters had cast their ballots as at 0925 hours. When the GNA arrived at the scene, there were only five people in the queue waiting anxiously to cast their vote. Juana Frimpong, Presiding Officer, expressed his concern about people rushing to exercise their franchise and said some 20 eligible voters had formed a queue to cast their ballots before 0700 hours. At the Presbyterian Primary School also in Sunyani East Constituency, 835 out of 1,871 people had cast their ballot as at 0940 hours.
Mr Phillip Banson, Presiding officer, expressed his satisfaction with the turn out, stressing that, "everything was in order". Voter turn out in other centres in the constituency was very low as compared to that of the December 7 general election.
Polling stations in towns along the route to Berekum experienced the same low turn out in the morning, as most of them did not have any queues waiting to cast their ballots as witnessed by the GNA. At the Zongo Yiadom Boakye Cinema Polling station in Berekum there was no queues but people were seen trickling in, Mr Kwame Darteh, Presiding Officer, told the GNA that, there had not been any incident. At Techiman North and South constituencies voter turn out was low at a number of polling stations in the two constituencies that recorded high turn out during the December 7 elections.
At 0700 hours when GNA visited some polling stations, Electoral officials were virtually holidaying. The polling stations include Techiman Market day care, Community Centre 'A', Community Centre 'B', Good Shepherd, King Sawud, Ameyaw JHS 'B,' as well as Kenten L.A. Primary and Godbless International.
