Issah Alhassan, Kumasi
13 August 2008
The National Voters' Registration exercise, embarked upon by the Electoral Commission (EC), to enable potential voters who have attained voting age, to get their names registered, has successfully ended in the Ashanti Regional capital, Kumasi, but indications are that many people would still not have the privilege of taking part in this year's elections, if arrangements are not made to get them registered.
A tour of some registration centres in the city, a few hours to the close of the exercise, amply confirmed that even though the two-day extension, given by the Commission, had offered a number of potential voters the opportunity to take part in this year's elections, other legitimate people would still be denied that right, as a result of the shortage of registration forms.
A number of registration centres visited by the paper, included the Asawase
Community Centre and the Aboabo Post Office, all in the Asawase constituency, and the Yaa Achiaa Girls Junior High School, which served both Asem and Fante Newtown electoral areas, in the Subin constituency.
When The Chronicle arrived at the Asawase Community Centre, it was revealed that over three hundred potential voters would be denied the opportunity to register, as the number of people, who had queued to register, far exceeded the number of registration forms in the possession of the electoral officers.
The Officer in-charge, Mr. Said Issah, told the paper that at the beginning of the exercise, they were presented with 1,600 forms, and an additional 700 were later on supplied, making it 2,100.
He said, however, only 197 forms were presented to them for the two-day extension period, which figure was far lower than the number of people who were yet to be registered.
As at 4:30 p.m., when the paper arrived at the centre, about 500 people, including minors, had lined up to get registered, while the remaining registration forms were less than 97, raising fears that a lot of them, who had been in the queue waiting for their turn, might have to go home without achieving their aims.
The story was no different at the Aboabo Post Office registration centre, where the officer-in-charge told the paper that an alternative arrangement ought to be provided, if a 100 per cent registration figure was to be attained.
The picture was quiet different at the Yaa Achiaa Girls Junior High School registration centre, where there was the likelihood that all potential voters, would have the opportunity to register their names.
The officer-in-charge at the centre, Nana Berko, told the paper that the 697 registration forms presented to them, for the two extension period, were yet to be exhausted.
He disclosed that, so far, about 2,407, out of the total 3,197 registration forms presented to them, had been registered as at 5:00 p.m., when the paper visited the centre.
Meanwhile, a number of people, who are likely to miss the opportunity to register, as a result of time constraints, have appealed to the commission, to make alternative arrangements to enable them register, so that they can exercise their franchise in the upcoming elections.
Some of them, who spoke to the paper, argued that their inability to register their names was not a deliberate one, so it would be unfair, on the part of the commission, to deny them the privilege of exercising their civil right.
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