The Coalition of Domestic Election Observers(CODEO) has asked the Electoral Commission to take action against individuals involved in criminal activities at the various registration centers.
The Electoral Commission begun its voter registration exercise on August 4, 2014 to register Ghanaians who turned 18 after the 2012 general elections and adults who could not register during the previous registration exercises to register.
CODEO deployed 350 field officials to observe the registration exercise.
These observers were deployed to selected registration centers across the ten regions of the country.
Though CODEO insists there were no conflicts or violence and no incidents of failure of the biometric registration equipment, the Coalition observed that “some individuals were registered although they did not produce any of the required ID cards, or bring people along to guarantee their eligibility.”
It stated that some Nigerians who attempted to register with the NHIS card at Pukero Primary School registration centre at Bolgatanga were prevented from registering following protests by political party representatives at the center.
Speaking on Eyewitness News, a member of the Coalition, P.N.K Aborampah Mensah said “we expect the [Electoral] Commission to take action and deal with them.”
Mr. Mensah further cited a lack of understanding of the registration procedures as one of the major problems the EC encountered in the registration exercise.
Highlighting key processes to refine future registration exercises, Mr. Mensah recommended that the EC intensifies the education of the required documents acceptable for registration.
“It appears that a considerable number of prospective registrants are not aware of the Supreme Court ruling on the NHIS card and voter registration,” he said.
He also recommended that the EC increases registration centers at various communities to speed up the process.
“The EC should use more directional signs especially in the urban centers to enable people identify registration centers because many people struggled to identify these centers, especially in the urban areas”
By: Marian Efe Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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