Voter Registration: EC deploys logistics

The Electoral Commission (EC) has deployed Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) kits and other logistics to its regional and district offices ahead of the voter registration exercise scheduled to start tomorrow. 

Other logistics deployed for the exercise include Turbonet devices, Registration Forms 1A and 1C, and laminators. The Chairperson of the EC, Jean Mensa, who disclosed this in an exclusive interview with the Daily Graphic, said a total of 3,277 personnel had also been engaged for the 21-day exercise, which would end on May 27, 2024.

The exercise will be conducted in all 268 district offices of the EC, including Santrokofi, Akpafu, Lolobi and Likpe (SALL) in the Guan Constituency in the Oti Region.

Context

The May 7 to May 27, 2024, registration is the EC’s regular voters’ registration exercise for the year ahead of the December 7 polls.

The EC, Mrs Mensa said, would open 775 registration centres in distant and riverine areas which are not close to the district offices, with registration mobile teams deployed to handle those communities.

Registration centres will also be opened in 25 public universities but no registration centres will be opened in senior high schools (SHS).

Personnel

Giving a breakdown of the personnel, Mrs Mensa said 496 supervisors, 831 registration officers, 831 data entry clerks, technicians and laminators would be involved. For the mobile registration teams, Mrs Mensa said 228 registration supervisors, 228 registration officers, 228 data entry clerks and 228 laminators had been engaged.

She said for the 25 public universities where registration would also take place, 25 registration officers, 25 data entry clerks and 25 laminators would be involved in the exercise.

The EC Chairperson explained that the choice of the 25 public universities was based on the huge population resident in various halls and hostels.

Expectation

She said the EC was expecting to register about 623,000 new applicants. Mrs Mensa said the political parties, through the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC), were notified ahead of the schedule based on which IPAC recommended the increase in the number of registration centres after extensive discussions.

She said extensive training had been held for both permanent and non-permanent staff to deliver to expectation. Mrs Mensa said the EC had trained technicians for each district to troubleshoot and fix any challenges that may arise with the BVR kits.

Aside from that, she said, each district had been given enough back-up BVR kits to replace any equipment that might break down.

Vulnerable groups

Mrs Mensa said the elderly, visually impaired, hearing impaired and physically ACCCapplicant was unable to register due to rain the previous day,” she added.

Security

Mrs Mensa said in a meeting with the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr George Akuffo Dampare, under the auspices of the National Elections Security Task Force, the EC had provided the police with the GPS addresses and movement plans of the mobile registration teams to enable the security agencies to provide the requisite personnel to safeguard the sanctity of the exercise.

She, therefore, called on all citizens to exercise their civic responsibility not only to register, but also to ensure that minors and foreigners did not register to vote on December 7, 2024, and beyond.

Mrs Mensa appealed to all stakeholders to co-operate with the officials to ensure a successful exercise.

Background

Per its calendar of activities available to the Daily Graphic, the EC intends to submit the provisional voters register to the political parties between July 9 and 18, 2024, and mount an exhibition of the voters register between July 15 and 24, 2024.

The final voters register is expected to be submitted to the political parties between August 30 and September 5, 2024.