The Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana is gearing up for a mop-up voter registration exercise, scheduled to take place from August 1 to August 3, 2024.
This exercise aims to capture eligible voters who were unable to register during the previous limited voter registration exercise held from May 7 to May 29, 2024.
The EC is optimistic about registering between 50,000 to 70,000 new voters onto the electoral roll during this three-day exercise.
The upcoming exercise is crucial in ensuring an all-inclusive voters’ register ahead of the December 7, 2024, general elections.
The EC has designated 268 District Offices, 26 Public Universities, and 41 Prison Centres across the country as registration centres for the exercise. The registration process will commence at 7:00 am and close at 6:00 pm each day.
To ensure a seamless registration process, the EC has engaged Mobile Telecommunication Network (MTN) to provide stable internet connectivity during the exercise.
This is a deliberate effort to prevent any technical glitches that may hinder the registration process.
During the previous limited voter registration exercise, the EC captured a total of 778,447 voters onto the electoral roll.
This figure comprised 408,332 females, representing 52.45%, and 370,115 males, representing 47.55%. Currently, there are 18,681,366 provisional registered voters.
To be eligible for registration, an applicant must present a Ghana Card or Ghana Passport as proof of eligibility at the designated registration centre.
In the absence of these documents, an applicant will require two registered voters as guarantors. This is in accordance with Regulation 2 of CI 91 as amended by CI 126.
The EC has cautioned that registered voters can only guarantee for 10 persons. This means that anyone who guaranteed for 10 persons in the last registration exercise does not qualify to guarantee for other applicants in the mop-up exercise.
Guarantors must ensure that those they wish to guarantee for are Ghanaians who are at least 18 years old and meet the other requirements for registration.
Political parties are permitted to send their agents to the registration centres to observe the exercise.
However, the EC has urged political parties to educate their agents to conduct themselves professionally to ensure an incident-free exercise.
The Ghana Police Service has been informed about the mop-up exercise, and there will be security presence at the various registration centres to ensure a peaceful environment.
The EC has urged applicants and registration officials to conduct themselves well at the centres to ensure a smooth exercise.
Parents and guardians are also advised not to allow their children who are not yet 18 years old to take part in the mop-up voter registration exercise.
Following the mop-up exercise, the EC has scheduled the exhibition of the voters’ register from August 20 to August 27, 2024. This exercise will take place at all polling stations across the country.
All registered voters are encouraged to go to their polling stations to check that their names are in the voters’ register or use the shortcode to electronically check their names in the voters’ register.
In conclusion, the mop-up voter registration exercise is a critical step towards ensuring that all eligible voters are captured.
