Accra, July, 10, GNA – The Electoral Commission says more than three million eligible voters have been registered in nine days after the start of the nationwide registration exercise on Tuesday, June 30.
Mr Samuel Tettey, Deputy Chairman in charge of Operations at the Commission, who announced this in Accra, said more than two million of the applicants presented the Ghana Card as proof of their identification.
This represents about 66 per cent of the total.
Speaking at the ‘Let the Citizen Know’ media briefing, Mr Tettey said about one million applicants, representing 32 per cent, used the guarantor avenue to back their applications.
About 60,000, representing two per cent, also used their passport to back their applications.
“Let the Citizen Know” is an initiative that seeks to engage the electorate on the EC’s activities and processes ahead of the 2020 General Election.
It will also be a platform where the Commission would receive feedback, respond to questions and address concerns on a timely and regular basis.
The bi-weekly engagement on Wednesdays and Fridays will provide updates on the number of persons who registered per day nationwide, details on the male/female ratios, number of persons who used the guarantor system, and the number of persons who used a form of identification.
Mr Tettey, giving an assessment of the queue management system, said it had helped to reduce congestion at many of the centres, four days into its introduction.
Additionally, he said, the performance of the new Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) kits and the fingerprint scanners were robust, effective and efficient.
Most registration teams, he noted, were able to register an average of 150 applicants per day per centre with some recording as high as 359 with the support of mobile teams.
“The performance of the registration officials is such that it takes an average of five minutes to process an applicant,” he said.
Some of the areas include the Anglican Primary School Akramaman – 281 in Ga West; Kumbumgu-Aboabo – 260 in the Tamale Metro; and Don Bosco Catholic Girls Primary School, Gomoa – 261.
On the adherences to the COVID-19 protocols, he said the situation had improved and that people were wearing face masks and also keeping to the social distancing protocols.
“However, the same cannot be said of some number of centres in certain places such as Accra Metropolis, Tema and Ashaiman, where observing social distancing still remains a challenge,” he noted.