Regions record slow start of registration exercise
Reports from the regions reveal a low turnout on the first day of the limited voters registration exercise which began last Thursday.
Some of the young people who turned out were more interested in getting a voter registration card as a form of identification rather than to enable them to vote.
The exercise by the Electoral Commission (EC) will end on May 8, 2016.
From Kumasi, Daniel Kenu & Felix A. Baidoo report that two minors at the Esreso East registration centre were turned away, while a number of potential first-time voters at the Asawase Methodist Basic School who had just turned 18 years but did not have any proof of their ages or guarantors were also prevented from registering.
The two at Esreso, a male and a female, who looked far younger than 18 years, had contested the officials of the EC led by Dora Achiaa, but when asked to show proof of their ages, or bring their parents, they had not showed up as of the time the Daily Graphic was leaving the venue.
But beyond the incident at Esreso and the frustration some people had to go through at Asawase, the process was smooth and peaceful.
The numbers though kept building up gradually, especially at the Asawase and the Subin constituencies on the first day.
At one of the 10 polling stations at the Asawase constituency for instance, the Registration Officer in charge of special duties, Zakari Ayaba, told the Daily Graphic that 10 new potential voters, including six females, who had just turned 18 had gone through the process without any hitch.
Nana Akufo-Addo
Ato Dapatem reports from Ejisu Juaben and Oforikrom constituencies in the Ashanti Region that the 2016 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, monitored the exercise.
The Alafia polling station at Anloga in the Oforikrom Constituency was Nana Akufo-Addo's first port of call. There, he interacted with registration officials of the EC, NPP polling agents and eligible voters, who were in the queue waiting for their turn to be registered.
The NPP flag bearer urged agents of the NPP at the polling station to remain vigilant and ensure that only eligible voters were registered, stressing that a credible voters register was the key to fostering confidence in the electoral process.
He also took the opportunity to interact with residents of Anloga, and encouraged first-time voters to register, as that would afford them the opportunity to decide who to vote for in this year’s election and also go a long way to determine the kind of future they wanted.
Nana Akufo-Addo's next port of call was the Ejisu constituency, where he visited the Bafoso Education Office (A) polling station, located within the premises of the Ejisu-Juaben Municipal Assembly.
Nana Agyeman Badu, the Registration Officer in charge at the centre, told the NPP flag bearer that three first-time voters had registered at the centre as of 10 a.m. The registration officials and NPP polling agents indicated that the process had been smooth, with no hitches recorded.
While observing the processes being undertaken by the registration officials, market women and NPP sympathisers, who learnt of Nana Akufo-Addo's presence thronged the premises of the municipal assembly, filling it within a matter of seconds to encourage him ahead of this year’s polls, with chants of "Nana oo Nana”, "2016 is your time."
Upper East Region
Alhandu Abdul-Hamid reports from Zuarungu in the Upper East Region that the exercise in the region took off smoothly, but with a low turnout at the various registration centres.
During a visit by the Daily Graphic to the Zuarungu Catholic Social Centre, Registration Centre ‘A’ and Centre 'B' it was observed that the registration was going on smoothly.
Two registration officers, Mr Paul Apuri and Mr Daniel Quarnyie, said they had no problems with logistics as all materials for the exercise were available and functioning effectively.
They expressed concern about the low turnout, but expressed the hope that with time the turnout would improve.
Northern Region
Zadok Kwame Gyesi in Tamale reports that in spite of the downpour yesterday morning in the Tamale metropolis in the Northern Region, many first-time voters queued up in their various electoral areas to register.
The exercise took off smoothly in most of the registration centres in the metropolis with few cases where there were some challenges with the biometric verification machine.
At the Lamashegu electoral area, for example, when the Daily Graphic visited the centre at about 7:28 a.m., the biometric verification machine was not working.
The Northern Regional Minister, Mr Abdallah Abubakari, and the Tamale Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE), Alhaji Abdul Rahman Gundadow, together with some security officials, visited some of the registration centres in the metropolis.
Among the centres visited were Nyohiin Presby in the Tamale North Constituency, Highway Office in Tamale South and Waterniya electoral area in the Tamale Central constituencies.
Mr Abubakari expressed his delight about the smooth start of the exercise.
Brong Ahafo Region
From Sunyani, Kwame Asiedu Marfo reports that the Brong Ahafo Regional Director of the Electoral Commission, Mr George Gyabaah, told the Daily Graphic that all materials required for the registration exercise had been distributed to the centres.
The Brong Ahafo Region has a total of 428 registration centres for the 10-day exercise, with 19 centres in the Sunyani municipality.
There were some challenges with locating some registration centres.
Even though the Brong Ahafo Regional Office of the EC gave a movement plan to the Daily Graphic, it was difficult to locate the centres where the registration would be carried out on the first five days of the exercise.
