EC registers 188,000 voters in Ashanti

• Posted on May 16, 2016
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

The Electoral Commission was able to register more than 188,000 prospective voters during the just-ended limited registration exercise in the Ashanti Region.

The figure represents about 38,000 more applicants relative to the targeted figure of 150,000 before the start of the registration exercise.

The Ashanti Regional Director of the commission, Serebour Quaicoo, disclosed this in an interview.

According to the Regional Director, about 102,000 of the applicants were registered during the second phase of the exercise, with about 86,000 of them registered in the first phase.

Mr Serebour said out of the registered applicants, a total of 5,058 have had their registration challenged.

The challenged cases are centred on suspected underage applicants who form about 90 per cent of the challenged cases, with the remaining figure relating to suspected non-residents or aliens.

Mr Serebour noted that the second phase of the registration exercise was more peaceful and successful than the first phase, and attributed it to improved co-operation of political party agents, as well as enhanced security arrangements at the registration centres.

On the issue of the challenged registration cases, the Regional EC Director said arbitration of those cases has already begun to allow the challenged applicants to justify why their personal details must be on the final voters’ register or be given Voter ID cards.

Mr Serebour said the decision regarding whether or not the limited registration exercise should be re-opened is for the commission to take and not for the Regional Directorate to decide.

From Adwoa Okyere Darko, Kumasi