The Electoral Commission has slashed the number of polling stations for the 2016 general elections from 30,000 to 29,000.
The commission has also agreed to introduce manual verification aside the routine biometric, for people whose particulars appear on the voters’ register but may be rejected by the biometric process.
[contextly_sidebar id=”bnjIkb89YGgfxkZwm74D2kyjM6YiIBRX”]The decision was taken at an Inter-party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting which was held to discuss electoral reforms and recommendations ahead of next year’s election.
The EC was initially expected to use about 30,000 polling stations but a statement signed by the Public Affairs Manager of the Commission, Christian Parry, explained that the EC decided to reduce the number “due to budget constraints.”
The Commission, at the meeting promised to take the best decision on the views collated on proposals for a the new voters’ register.
The EC recently held a forum to gather the views of various political parties on proposals for a new register.
The respective political parties and civil society organisations made their submissions known which have been captured by a five member committee chaired by Justice V.C.R.A.C Crabbe.
The committee is expected to submit its final report on the subject to the EC. The Electoral Commission says it will “study the report and make a decision on the voters’ register as soon as practicable.”
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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah