EC registers over 12 million in ongoing voters registration

The Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana says it has, as at July 26, 2020 captured the biometric data of 12,371,651 persons in the ongoing compilation exercise of a new voters register ahead of the 2020 December 7 polls.

According to the Chairperson of the EC, Jean Mensa, the figures

Read full articlestem from provisional data provided from across the country which represents 82.5% of its expected target of 15 million applicants.

Speaking at a press briefing under the "Let the Citizen’s Know" series, Jean Mensa said; “As at yesterday, Sunday the 26th of July a total number 12,371,651 had been successfully registered. This represents 82.5% of our expected target of 15 million”

She added; “As at Friday the 24th of July, the total number of registered voters stood at 11,629,480. At the end of the fourth phase, the Greater Accra Region had the highest number of registrants; totaling 2,615,925. The Ashanti Region came second with a total of 2,089,923 and the Eastern Region came third with a total of 1,084,734.”

Mrs Jean Mensa attributed the increase in the figures for the fourth phase of the exercise to the deployment of more biometric registration kits at registration centres along with mobile van teams and back-ups.

“It is gratifying to note that our Biometric Registration Kits are functioning effectively. For the record, The Commission procured 8,530 Biometric Kits for the exercise. All the kits have been deployed into the field and our district offices. Indeed, the robustness of the kits account for the high numbers we are witnessing. Our officials report on the accuracy of the scanners in capturing high quality fingerprints of applicants. Together with the facial recognition feature, we should witness a reduction in the use of manual verification come December 7th 2020,” she explained.

The EC Chairperson however condemned acts of violence at some registration centres which have marred the exercise in some parts of the country.

“The Commission will not shield any staff or person who violates the laid down procedures and rules. Over the last few weeks, we have had to lay off a few field officials who have misconducted themselves,” she added.

The compilation of a new voters register by the Electoral Commission (EC) commenced on June 30, 2020 across all the districts in the country.

The exercise, which is expected to last for 38 days, is projected to capture the biometric data of about 15 million Ghanaians eligible to vote ahead of the 2020 December 7 general elections.