EC’s voter registration exercise may escalate COVID-19 cases – NDC

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) says any attempt by the Electoral Commission (EC) to embark on a voter registration exercise may escalate the COVID-19 cases in the country.

The Electoral Commission’s decision to compile a new electoral roll has been met with mixed reactions from the political front.

Although the exercise is currently on hold following the COVID-19 pandemic, the EC says it will observe the necessary safety protocols if the time comes for the registration exercise to commence.

But addressing the media at the NDC’s headquarters in Accra on Thursday, Director of Elections for the party, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah was sceptical about the safety measures put in place by the EC.

“The National Identification Authority stopped registration when we had 200 cases and now you want to register 17 to 18 million people in forty days. My brothers and sisters, let’s be honest here and put NDC, NPP aside and ask if this is realistic? Is this sound?”

“Are they going to determine how many people will come from their homes to register? So people will be outside the registration centre and their people (EC Officials) will be in PPE? What about the citizens? Will they give everyone PPE? And how will they determine if someone has COVID-19 or not? These are practical commonsensical issues that we want Ghanaians to think of. Won’t they escalate the positive cases in the country?”

EC assures of adequate consultation on voter registration exercise
The Electoral Commission has assured that it will not leave stakeholders in the dark on its plans for the voter registration exercise.

Madam Sylvia Annor, the Commission’s Head of Public Affairs, in a Citi News interview said “We will come out with all those details later; as soon as practicable. We will definitely have to communicate with the public, particularly our stakeholders, on how we are going to go about it.”

“I can assure you that we will make the general public aware of our plans and projections so that they actively participate in the process,” she assured.

EC releases safety protocols for voter registration exercise
The Electoral Commission (EC) has published safety advisories it intends to observe during the registration exercise.

Among other things, it will be mandatory to wear face masks at the registration centres, people’s temperature will be checked before one is allowed into the registration centre and there will be running water available for handwashing, according to an artwork posted on the Commission’s social media pages.

Queues are to have one-metre gaps between persons lining up to register, the scanners will be sanitised and persons who complete the registration process will also be provided with hand sanitiser before they leave the centre.