Voters register exhibition extension fails to improve patronage
The directive given by the Electoral Commission (EC) for the voters register exhibition exercise to be extended has not made much impact, as many polling stations still record low patronage.
The exercise, which ends tomorrow, after it had been extended from the September 17 closing date following reports of low patronage when it started on Tuesday, September 10, is intended to enable registered voters, estimated at about 17 million, to verify and authenticate their details and also help clean up the electoral list by removing the names of dead persons ahead of the December referendum on the participation of political parties in district level elections.
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However, the situation has not changed, as many polling stations visited across the country and in Accra in particular are still recording low patronage, with many exhibition officials left with little to do at their centres.
Newly registered voters
The officials indicated that most of the people who had come to verify their names were those who were registered in the limited registration exercise that took place last June.
“So far, most of the people who have come to check their details are those who were registered in the June 17 to July 7, 2019 exercise. Because the exercise took place at selected centres within the constituencies, those people have come to check if they are on the list.
“All those who came to check went away satisfied because they found their names on the list. Only two people came to get the names of their family members off because they had passed away.
“I remember one particular case because the person died on August 17, almost a month after the special registration exercise, and his sister who came to report and to have the name removed could not control her tears when she came,” an official at the Osu Presbyterian Girls’ School Exhibition Centre indicated.
Low numbers
Various reasons have been given by people who are yet to visit their polling stations to verify their names in the voters register, one being their unwillingness to leave their jobs and other pressing issues to check their details in the register.
Most of the exhibition officials the Daily Graphic spoke to said compared to previous exercises, patronage of this exhibition exercise had been low, with some offering the explanation that it might be due to the perception that the exercise was for district level elections.
An official at an exhibition centre at Adenta said out of the 800 registered voters in the register, only 437 had gone to verify their information as of last Tuesday, and of that number, 10 deaths were reported, with the supporting documents, to have those names removed.
“I was at this same centre for the exhibition exercise held ahead of the 2016 elections and the patronage was very encouraging during the entire period. It was very busy then. But currently it is slow.
“Perhaps most people think their information has not changed from the time they voted in 2016 and so there is no need to pass by,” the official who chose to be anonymous said.
However, exhibition centres at the University of Ghana, Legon and the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) recorded good turnouts over the weekend, as officials said they had about 60 per cent patronage.
“It was slow at the beginning, but over the weekend most of the people came around to check their details. Although I cannot give the exact figures, I can say that about 60 per cent of the people came to verify their information on Saturday and Sunday.
“However, things slowed down again on Monday and today,” an official on the UPSA campus explained.
Within the Adrabraka community in the Korle Klottey Constituency in the Greater Accra Region, the centres were literally empty, with some officials seen reading newspapers or books to occupy them.
Reasons
One of the explanations given by some officials was that interest in district level elections had always been low and that might have affected the exhibition exercise, as many people believed it was solely for the referendum.
“I suspect the general apathy towards district level elections has been extended to this exercise simply because of the announcement that it is being done purposely for the referendum.
I’m sure if there had been an announcement that it was for next year’s election, the reaction from the public would have been different,” an official at one of the centres at Madina Social Welfare said.
He said collectively there were over 2,400 registered voters at that centre, but as of the time of the visit, only 1,300 had checked their details.
Madam Akosua Amoakoa Abrefi, who sells at the Madina Market but lives at Amasaman, said she had not been able to go through the exercise because of the times she left and returned home.
“Initially, I wanted to register at Madina because that is where I work, but I was prevented from doing so. Therefore, I registered at Amasaman, where I live, but I have not been able to check my details because I leave home before the officials come, and by the time I return home, they are gone,” Madam Abrefi said.
Kwaku Manu Ofori, a shoe-shine boy, told the Daily Graphic that he registered in Obuasi, where he comes from, and since elections were usually scheduled for December, he prepared and travelled back home at that time, so that he could vote, spend Christmas with his family and return thereafter.
“I don’t have the money to travel to Obuasi at this time and then go back in December for the Christmas celebrations. I voted with the same details the last time and nothing has changed, so I’m not really bothered about not being able to travel to verify,” Ofori explained when he was approached on the Legon campus.
Nii Oblitei Oblitey of Nungua, who had verified his details and was satisfied with the outcome, said he believed many had stayed away due to the low publicity the exercise had been given.
“Information on the exercise was not good enough. I only got to know about it because my friend is an official and he informed me about it. It was later that I heard some announcements on radio. I think the EC should have used public address systems to make announcements in the communities more, as was done in the past,” he said.
Challenges
It was difficult for people to easily find their names, as the register was not in alphabetical order and officials had to go through the booklets to find a registered voter’s name.
Also, there are no master lists for collation, and so at the end of each day officials have to tally the names they have ticked to know the number of people who have checked their names.
