EC limits registration to 75 applicants at a time

The Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana has introduced a new system to control swelling numbers at registration centres.

The queue management system is to deal with overcrowding at some registration centres to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 as the new voter registration takes place.

Registration began on Tuesday, June 30, and is currently in the second phase.

The first days were fraught with crowds trooping to the centres in violation of COVID-19 guidelines outlined by the EC at the venues.

“Under the Queue Management System, the first 150 applicants who arrive at the registration centres will be provided with numbered chits. The first half of this number will be served from morning to early afternoon.

“The second half will be asked to leave the centres and return in the afternoon when the registration process for the first batch has been completed. They will then be served,” the Acting Public Affairs Director at the EC, Mrs Sylvia Annoh, said in a statement on Monday, July 6.

The election management body believes the new system will reduce the long queues and help with the enforcement of social distancing protocols at the centres.

The EC said it will continue to review and improve its processes so as “to ensure that citizens register in a safe and secure environment.”

As part of measures to curb coronavirus, applicants are supposed to wear face masks, wash their hands before entering the premises of registration centres and observe social distancing.

The temperature of every applicant is expected to be taken, and health officials from the Ghana Health Service notified of persons with high readings.

Additionally, the EC says it has made provisions for hand sanitisers, and regular disinfection of registration kits are to be observed by officials.