The Electoral Commission has rejected calls for an extension of the exercise
to re-register the more than 56,000 voters whose names were deleted from the
country’s electoral register. Although the 10-day period set aside for the
affected persons to re-register ends Thursday, July 28, checks at the EC by
3News shows only about 14,000 of them have so far re-registered.
A total of 56,772 voters were deleted from the register for using National
Health Insurance card as proof of identity. The deletion followed a Supreme
Court order to the Commission after the Court declared the use of the card as
void. Some political parties have consequently raised concern over what they say
is the limited time offered the affected voters to register. Representatives of
the New Patriotic Party, People’s National Convention and Progressive People’s
Party say the EC has not done enough in terms of publicity of the
re-registration exercise hence the low turnout.
Director of Elections of NPP Martin Agyei Mensah Korsah said though it is
important that the EC extends the period, the EC must also equip its district
offices with a lot more equipment to for the exercise. But the Director of
Communications at the Electoral Commission, Eric Kofi Dzapkasu, has disagreed
with claims by the political parties that the low turnout is a result of low
publicity by the Commission.
He said the Commission put in place adequate measures to sensitize people to
make them enthusiastic to engage in both the re-registration exercise as well as
the exhibition exercise. “We have our jingles being played on over two hundred
radio stations across the country throughout the day as well as intensified
publicity at both the district and community levels,” he told 3FM Mr Dzakpasu
also denied assertions that the exhibition exercise has overshadowed the re-
registration exercise which were done simultaneously, arguing it has rather
thrown more light on it.
Meanwhile, Convener of pressure group, Let My Vote Count Alliance,
David Asante, says the EC is only deceiving Ghanaians because the Commission has
not deleted the 56,772 NHIS registrants from the register as
ordered. |
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