Verification easing process, tension at Adentan Constituency

Voters who have cast their ballots so far have praised the verification process for streamlining the voting experience.

They noted that unlike four years ago, when there were issues with the biometric verification device (BVD), this year’s election has been much smoother, reducing both wait times in queues and the overall voting process.

Voters at several polling stations within the Adentan Constituency commended the system, highlighting how it improved efficiency.

In addition to being faster, the verification process allows voters who arrive without their voter ID to still cast their vote, as long as their names are on the list and they are successfully verified.

Process seamless

Emma Lovina Abbah, an elderly woman who has been voting at the Adentan Municipal Assembly (AdMA) since 1996, expressed her satisfaction with the entire voting process, attributing the smooth experience to the improved verification system.

"Four years ago, it was a bit chaotic, as the BVD either didn’t work or was very slow. However, this time, the process has been simple, smooth and very fast," Madam Abbah said. "I didn't spend more than six minutes in the queue."

At the Little Roses School Polling Station in Adenta, a voter who cast his ballot without his voter ID card was also pleased that the BVD allowed him to vote.

"I'm thankful that I was able to vote despite not having my ID card. I was worried that I was going to be denied the right to vote. I didn't go through the initial verification because I could not find my card.

"However,  when I arrived, I was encouraged to talk to the presiding officer who directed me on what to do. I went through the process, found my name, my verification was successful and within 10 minutes, I was done," said Mustapha Mubarak.

At the St. Peter's School polling station in Ashaley Botwe, voters Mahamudu Yakubu and Marian Ankobrah both expressed their satisfaction with the process, stating that it made the work of both the electoral officers and voters much easier.

"At the heart of most agitation at polling stations is the process of finding out if my name is on the list or not.

"Also, the way they have created more voting stations has helped as well, because I didn't have to be in the queue for that long and didn't get a tough time finding my name and precisely where I had to vote," Ms Ankobrah said.

No queues

Unlike previous elections, which were marked by long queues, the 2024 voting has seen more manageable lines so far.

As early as 5 a.m., voters anticipating long waits arrived to be among the first to vote. By 7 a.m., the process began and they were done in just a few minutes.

Presiding officers of the Electoral Commission (EC), who spoke with Graphic Online, confirmed that the process has been smooth so far.

They attributed the improvement to the increase in the number of voting stations compared to 2020, as well as the efficiency of the biometric verification devices (BVD), which have been functioning well.

"At most of the stations where there are more than 900 voters on the register, those have been divided into A and B so people are not spending too much time in the queue.

"Also, once voters show up, they are directed to join a particular queue by the Polling station code on the card. So those mix-ups of you should have been here or there have also been eliminated," the POs said.

Asked if there were backups for the BVDs, the POs said there were power banks to help charge the devices should they run out of power.