EC rules out extension; Says 1.105m people registered

The Electoral Commission (EC) says it will not extend the limited voters registration exercise as requested by some students and representatives of political parties.

Rather, it said it would give eligible voters who could not register in the just-ended exercise the opportunity to do so in a continuous registration process.

In an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, the EC’s Director of Elections, Mr Samuel Tettey, said: “There is this opportunity for continuous registration and all those who could not register can use the continuous registration to do so.”
Massive registration
 Mr Samuel Tettey , EC’s Director of Elections
He said contrary to public perception that many people were not captured, the exercise was the highest recorded limited registration conducted by the EC.

According to provisional figures sighted by the Daily Graphic,1,105,686 new voters were registered, as against the targeted 1.2 million. 

The Ashanti Region recorded the highest number of registered voters,186,895, followed by Greater Accra,162,709, with the region with the least number of new registrants being the Upper West Region with 40,843.

The Ashanti Region also recorded the highest number of applicants who had their eligibility challenged at 5,084, followed by the Volta Region at 3,276, with Upper West recording the least number of applicants challenged at 246.

The trend from the data indicates that the second phase of the 10-day exercise recorded more registrants (613,480) than the first phase of 492,206. 

Explaining the issues about the continuous registration, Mr Tettey said the EC had given out modalities for the continuous registration to the various political parties for their input.

He said once the EC received a feedback from the political parties, it would open up the process for the continuous registration of all eligible voters. 

However, there are no clear timeliness as to when the political parties are supposed to present their feedback to the EC .

The EC conducted a 10-day limited voters registration exercise from April 28 to May 8, 2016. But many people, especially students, have complained about their inability to register as a result of the limited number of registration centres. 

Meanwhile, per Ghana’s electoral laws, people who register 60 days before an election cannot have their names on the voters register and will, therefore, not be able to cast their ballots on November 7.
Modalities
The EC proposes that the continuous registration will be conducted at its district offices across the country.  

Another proposal is that the registration will be conducted by district electoral officers and secretaries at the district offices of the EC.

In the interest of transparency, the EC suggests that the various political parties will have the opportunity to station their representatives at the district offices to monitor the registration.

Alternatively, it will post the number of applicants and their information at the district offices of the EC and also give copies to the political parties. 

Mr Tettey explained that once the political parties had the list of applicants, they could go ahead and challenge any applicant they suspected to be ineligible. 

Background 
The 10-day limited voters registration exercise was primarily intended for Ghanaian citizens who had turned 18 and adults who could not register in previous elections.
It was conducted at more than 6,000 registration centres across the country.
The Electoral Commission (EC) says it will not extend the limited voters registration exercise as requested by some students and representatives of political parties.
Rather, it said it would give eligible voters who could not register in the just-ended exercise the opportunity to do so in a continuous registration process.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, the EC’s Director of Elections, Mr Samuel Tettey, said: “There is this opportunity for continuous registration and all those who could not register can use the continuous registration to do so.”
Massive registration
He said contrary to public perception that many people were not captured, the exercise was the highest recorded limited registration conducted by the EC.
According to provisional figures sighted by the Daily Graphic,1,105,686 new voters were registered, as against the targeted 1.2 million.
The Ashanti Region recorded the highest number of registered voters,186,895, followed by Greater Accra,162,709, with the region with the least number of new registrants being the Upper West Region with 40,843.
The Ashanti Region also recorded the highest number of applicants who had their eligibility challenged at 5,084, followed by the Volta Region at 3,276, with Upper West recording the least number of applicants challenged at 246.
The trend from the data indicates that the second phase of the 10-day exercise recorded more registrants (613,480) than the first phase of 492,206.
Explaining the issues about the continuous registration, Mr Tettey said the EC had given out modalities for the continuous registration to the various political parties for their input.
He said once the EC received a feedback from the political parties, it would open up the process for the continuous registration of all eligible voters.
However, there are no clear timeliness as to when the political parties are supposed to present their feedback to the EC .
The EC conducted a 10-day limited voters registration exercise from April 28 to May 8, 2016. But many people, especially students, have complained about their inability to register as a result of the limited number of registration centres.
Meanwhile, per Ghana’s electoral laws, people who register 60 days before an election cannot have their names on the voters register and will, therefore, not be able to cast their ballots on November 7.
Modalities
The EC proposes that the continuous registration will be conducted at its district offices across the country.
Another proposal is that the registration will be conducted by district electoral officers and secretaries at the district offices of the EC.
In the interest of transparency, the EC suggests that the various political parties will have the opportunity to station their representatives at the district offices to monitor the registration.
Alternatively, it will post the number of applicants and their information at the district offices of the EC and also give copies to the political parties.
Mr Tettey explained that once the political parties had the list of applicants, they could go ahead and challenge any applicant they suspected to be ineligible.
Background 
The 10-day limited voters registration exercise was primarily intended for Ghanaian citizens who had turned 18 and adults who could not register in previous elections.
It was conducted at more than 6,000 registration centres across the country.
- See more at: http://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/63622-ec-rules-out-extension-says-1-105m-people-registered.html#sthash.BoZ9LiSK.dpuf

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