Get involved in Limited voter registration exercise – Bawumia to Ghanaians
Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has urged eligible Ghanaian voters to participate fully in the limited voter registration exercise starting today September 12, 2023.
He specified that all citizens who turned 18, adults who have not yet registered, adults who have lost their ID cards, and those who want to transfer their votes should do so accordingly to be able to vote in the 2024 general election.
Dr. Bawumia in a Facebook post on September 12 wrote that “The right to vote starts with the responsibility of registering with the Electoral Commission(EC)”.
“I urge citizens just turned 18 years old or adults of voting age who have not yet registered to take advantage of the registration exercise starting today, September 12, across all EC district offices and register,”, he ended.
The limited voter registration exercise will take place at the 268 District Offices of the Commission and the Electoral Commission is hoping to register 1,350,000 new voters by the close of the exercise on October 2, 2023.
However, many people have raised concerns about the location, which will require eligible Ghanaians to move from their homes to district offices, which could be several kilometers away, a disincentive to participate in the exercise.
On September 7, five opposition political parties led by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) sued the Electoral Commission (EC) at the Supreme Court over the upcoming limited voter registration exercise.
The NDC, the Convention People’s Party (CPP), the All People’s Congress (APC), the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG), and the Great Consolidated People’s Party (GCPP) in their writ demanded that the apex court should restrain the EC from holding the Limited Voter Registration exercise at only district offices instead of electoral areas.
Despite the numerous calls by the parties and other individuals, the EC has turned deaf ears by ordering the commencement of the limited voter registration in all the district offices today, September 12, 2023.
For citizens who are yet to register, the EC disclosed that they will need either their Ghana Card or Ghana Passport as identification. In cases where eligible applicants do not possess these identification documents, they can be vouched for by two registered voters to facilitate their registration.