The ongoing limited registration exercise in the Eastern Region has been disrupted by a shortage of registration materials in some districts leaving hundreds of applicants in anxiety of being disenfranchised.
Some Municipal and Districts hit so far as at the end of Monday, June 25, 2019, were New Juaben South, Lower West Akim and Upper West Akim.
Officials of the Electoral Commission in the region have, however, assured the challenge will be rectified for the exercise to resume on Tuesday as they await registration materials from the Headquarters of the Commission.
But, the Eastern Regional Secretariat of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) says the shortage is happening due to unscientific estimates by the EC after rejecting advice from the NDC for it to consult the Ghana Statistical Service to get accurate data on the estimated new applicants to provide corresponding materials.
The Eastern Regional Organizer of the NDC, Hackman Kabore told Starr News, the EC must compensate the time loss due to the shortage by ensuring that every applicant is not left out.
“The reason for the shortage is due to the EC warped estimate about the potential applicants. We told them over one million new voters are qualified looking at previous trajectory but the EC says no that is not the case and thus targeting some 300,000 new voters so the materials they brought is less hence the shortage,” he said.
He added: “The EC must ensure that every qualified applicant is registered. We will take the EC on legally if it disenfranchises even a single voter in the region due to its failure because most of these places we are recording the shortage are our strongholds.”
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Kojo Ansah
