The Electoral Commission (EC) has deployed Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) kits and other logistical support to its regional and district offices in preparation for the voter registration exercise scheduled to commence tomorrow.
Included in the deployed logistics are Turbonet devices, Registration Forms 1A and 1C, and laminators.
The Chairperson of the EC, Jean Mensa, disclosed in an exclusive interview with the Daily Graphic that a total of 3,277 personnel had been engaged for the 21-day exercise, which will conclude on May 27, 2024.
The registration will be conducted in all 268 district offices of the EC, including Santrokofi, Akpafu, Lolobi, and Likpe (SALL) in the Guan Constituency in the Oti Region.
The registration, scheduled from May 7 to May 27, 2024, is the EC’s regular voters’ registration exercise for the year, ahead of the December 7 polls.
Mrs. Mensa stated that 775 registration centers would be opened in distant and riverine areas that are not close to the district offices, with mobile registration teams deployed to handle those communities.
Registration centers will also be set up in 25 public universities, but none will be opened in senior high schools (SHS).
Mrs. Mensa provided a breakdown of the personnel, including 496 supervisors, 831 registration officers, 831 data entry clerks, technicians, and laminators. For the mobile registration teams, 228 registration supervisors, 228 registration officers, 228 data entry clerks, and 228 laminators have been engaged.
For the 25 public universities where registration will also take place, 25 registration officers, 25 data entry clerks, and 25 laminators will be involved in the exercise.
The EC anticipates registering approximately 623,000 new applicants. Mrs. Mensa noted that political parties, through the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC), were informed ahead of the schedule, based on which IPAC recommended the increase in the number of registration centers after extensive discussions.
She mentioned that extensive training had been conducted for both permanent and non-permanent staff to meet expectations.
Technicians have been trained for each district to troubleshoot and fix any challenges that may arise with the BVR kits. Additionally, each district has been provided with enough backup BVR kits to replace any equipment that might break down.
Mrs. Mensa called on all citizens to exercise their civic responsibility not only to register but also to ensure that minors and foreigners do not register to vote on December 7, 2024, and beyond. She appealed to all stakeholders to cooperate with the officials to ensure a successful exercise.
According to its calendar of activities, the EC plans to submit the provisional voters register to the political parties between July 9 and 18, 2024, and mount an exhibition of the voters’ register between July 15 and 24, 2024.
The final voters’ register is expected to be submitted to the political parties between August 30 and September 5, 2024.