President Akufo-Addo tours five voters registration centres in Accra

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo Thursday paid surprise visits to five voters registration centres in the Greater Accra Region to get himself acquainted with the process.

On the tour with the President were the Director of Operations at the Presidency, Mr Lord Commey, and the Director of Communications, Mr Eugene Arhin.

Registration centres

The centres visited were the Kanda Cluster of Schools Registration Centre in Ayawaso East, the Abossey Okai Presby Centre in Ablekuma Central and the Ebenezer Funeral Parlour (1&2) centres in Weija-Gbawe.

Others were the Teshie Aboma Presby Church Centre in Ledzokuku and the Super Service Centre in Klottey Korle.

Interactions

At each of the centres, President Akufo-Addo interacted with registration officials, who took him through the registration process.

The Electoral Commission (EC) had provided Veronica buckets with water and soap for washing of hands at each centre and only people with nose masks on were allowed to queue and register.

Each person had his or her temperature taken by a community nurse.

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has deployed 7,000 nurses across the country as part of the registration teams at the centres.

In addition to hand-washing and having one’s temperature taken, there was strict adherence to the social distancing protocol, as seats or marked spaces were evenly arranged two metres apart.

Having completed the registration process and been issued with the voter ID card, the successful applicant is again made to sanitise his or her hands with hand sanitiser provided before leaving the centre.

Impressed by the process and how smooth it was, President Akufo-Addo commended the registration officials for their diligence and encouraged them to maintain the high standards to ensure that all eligible persons who got to the centres were registered.

He also urged them to continue to adhere to the safety protocols in order to save not only themselves but also all people who visited the centres to register from getting infected with the virus.

The President, at some stages, engaged people who had queued to register in conversation and commended them for their decision to carry our their civic duty of coming out to register.

He encouraged them to continue to observe the COVID-19 safety protocols at all times as a means of keeping themselves safe, as well as stop the spread of the disease.

Valid ID

President Akufo-Addo was briefed by the registration officials at the centres he visited that majority of the people who showed up came along with their Ghana cards, with only a few turning up with their passports, as required.

Prospective registrants who are unable to produce either of the valid forms of identification are given an Identification Guarantee Form to fill, to be endorsed by two registered voters, before they are allowed to go through the process and issued with voter ID cards.

The President was informed that no one had gone through the registration process with the Identification Guarantee Form since the exercise began.

Register to vote

In his broadcast to the nation last Monday ahead of the commencement of the registration exercise, President Akufo-Addo had encouraged all eligible citizens to take part in the exercise.

“It is vitally important that all eligible voters register, so that on the designated day of 7th December you can vote to choose the President of the nation and the Member of Parliament (MP) of your area.

“In effect, your vote, your thumb, is the expression of your individual sovereign power as a citizen and should be cherished and guarded at all times,” he had stressed.