Limited Voter Registration: Extend duration on university campuses – Dumelo urges EC

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John Setor Dumelo, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate for the Ayawaso West Wuogon constituency, has urged the Electoral Commission (EC) to extend the registration period on the university campuses.

He said this would allow a lot more first-time voters to register and avoid being disenfranchised in the December polls, stressing that only about 300 out of close to 7,000 first-time voters have successfully registered at the Legon campus.

Mr. Dumelo’s request comes on the back of technical challenges that have fraught the 3-day-old registration exercise across the country.

The Commission, in a statement on Wednesday, therefore directed all its District Officers to switch to offline mode on May 9 to fast-track the registration process.

Moreover, the Commission assured stakeholders that “should there be a backlog of voters at the end of the twenty-one (21) day process, the registration exercise will be extended beyond the 27th of May, 2024 deadline.”

“My main concern is the university campuses, especially Legon campus. You have thousands of students who are eligible voters, you have thousands of students who are first-time voters. As we speak, only about 300 out of maybe over 7,000 have been registered, and today is the last day for the campuses.

“I think that it is something which is of great concern to us that they should be able to extend, especially the Legon campus so that most of the students would be able to register; if not, they would be disenfranchised,” he told TV3’s George Kwanin.

NDC parliamentary candidate for Ayawaso West Wuogon, John Dumelo, has called for an extension of the limited voter registration exercise for university students.#TV3NewDay pic.twitter.com/GQnMGNSs7q

— #TV3GH (@tv3_ghana) May 10, 2024

EC targets over 620k first-time voters

Meanwhile, the Commission is seeking to register about 623,000 first-time voters onto the electoral roll in the ongoing limited voter registration exercise across the country ahead of the December 7 national elections.

The 21-day exercise commenced on Tuesday, May 7, in all 258 district offices of the Commission. The exercise is expected to end on Monday, May 27, 2024.

Moreover, the Commission has set up additional 785 centres to cater for individuals who may have difficulty accessing the EC’s district offices.

Also, 25 public universities have been included as registration centres.

“Permanent centres will be set up at the District offices while mobile teams would be used to register eligible applicants in the difficult-to-access Electoral Areas. The list of registration centres will be provided to the Political Parties no later than twenty-one (21) days to the Registration exercise,” the EC noted.

The Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), Jean Mensa, has emphasised the importance of compiling a credible voter register as the election 2024 beckons.

She said that without a credible voter register, there can never be transparent elections.

At a news conference in Accra on Monday, May 6, ahead of the 2024 limited voter registration exercise, Jean Mensah said the EC is poised to deliver a credible and transparent election.

“As a commission, we remain poised and ready to deliver credible, transparent and peaceful elections and electoral processes starting with the 2024 registration exercise.

“It is well known that the voters register is a bedrock of an election. Without a credible and accurate voter register, there can be no transparent and acceptable elections,” she stated.