Ghana: Electoral body says 12 million so far registered in ongoing exercise
Accra, Ghana (PANA) - Ghana’s Electoral Commission (EC) Monday announced here that it had as a 26 July captured the biometric data of more than 12 million persons toward the compilation of a new voter’s register.
Speaking at a press briefing under the "Let the Citizen’s Know" series, and monitored by PANA here, Jean Mensa, chairperson of the EC, said the 12,371,651 persons constituted 82.5 percent of the expected target of 15 million applicants qualifying to make this year’s list of eligible voters for the 7 December general election, all things being equal.
She said the figure emanated from data provided from across the country which represented 82.5 per cent of its expected target voter population.
“As at yesterday, Sunday, the 26th of July, a total number 12,371,651 had been successfully registered. This represents 82.5% of our expected target of 15 million.”
She said that at the end of the fourth phase of the registration exercise, the Greater Accra Region had the highest number of registrants, totaling 2,615,925.
It was followed by the Ashanti Region with a total of 2,089,923 and the Eastern Region with a total of 1,084,734 respectively.
Mensa attributed the increase in the figures for the fourth phase of the exercise to the deployment of more biometric registration kits at registration centres along with mobile van teams and back-ups.
“It is gratifying to note that our biometric registration kits are functioning effectively. For the record, the Commission procured 8,530 biometric kits for the exercise. All the kits have been deployed into the field and our district offices.
“Indeed, the robustness of the kits account for the high numbers we are witnessing. Our officials report on the accuracy of the scanners in capturing high quality fingerprints of applicants. Together with the facial recognition feature, we should witness a reduction in the use of manual verification come December 7, 2020,” she explained.
The EC chairperson however condemned acts of violence at some registration centres which tended to disrupt the exercise in some parts of the country.
“The Commission will not shield any staff or person who violates the laid down procedures and rules. Over the last few weeks, we have had to lay off a few field officials who have mis-conducted themselves,” she added.
The compilation of a new voters register by the EC commenced on 30 June across all the districts in the country.
The exercise, which is expected to last for 38 days, is projected to capture the biometric data of about 15 million Ghanaians eligible to vote ahead of the 2020 December 7 general elections.
-0- PANA RA 27Jul2020
