The pilot voter registration exercise by the Electoral Commission (EC) has been successful in the Greater Accra Region, according to the EC’s Regional Director.
The two-day exercise organised across the country was to test-run new Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) kits, assess Covid-19 protocols put in place, among other things, in readiness for the main voter registration exercise to take place later this month.
The Greater Accra Director of EC, Mr. Kwame Amoah in an interview with Graphic Online, said the objective of the exercise was achieved in the Greater Accra Region, which ran the mock exercise at Sapeiman, in the Ga East district.
According to him, the aim of the exercise was to test the strength of the new equipment acquired by the EC and to test the readiness of the Commission’s officials. He said although they had registered 40 people as at the time of visit at 1pm Wednesday, June 3, 2020, they were expecting to register no less than 90 by close of day.
He said they were able to register only 50 people on the first day of the exercise – Tuesday 2, 2020.
He attributed the relatively low number to a problem with the thumb scanner machine which he said, was not able to pick some registrant’s finger print.
He said the problem was however resolved later in the day. He also debunked an allegation that the EC was using old equipment for the exercise, adding that they were using more advanced machines.
He added that the equipment was also used without light on Wednesday to test its efficacy on occasions when there would be no power supply.
The EC Director further assured that the Greater Accra region was well prepared to carry out the mass voters registration exercise.
Speaking to some of the registrants, they said they were satisfied with the process including the EC’s adherence to the COVID-19 preventive measures. Others also complained about delays in the process.
Source:Fiilafmonline/Graphic
