61.9% of 910,996 new voters registered used guarantor system-EC
The Electoral Commission (EC) says 61.9% of 910,996 new voters registered in the just-ended limited voter registration used the guarantor system.
The data shows that 37.8% used Ghana Card, and 0.3% used passport.
Addressing a press conference in Accra yesterday, Mr Samuel Tettey, Deputy Chair of EC in Charge of Operations, said the Commission was “very much satisfied” with the outcome of the exercise.
He noted that the Commission exceeded its target of 700, 000 voters but ended up registering 910,996 voters.
He attributed the success to the measures adopted by the EC to resolve the challenges that emerged at the initial stages.
Regional breakdown
The regional breakdown of the figures shows that the Ashanti Region recorded the highest number of registered voters, with 148, 294, followed by the Greater Accra Region, which recorded 124, 166 voters..
The rest are: Western-55,886; Western North-31, 483; Central-85, 152; Volta-55,557; Oti -36, 481; Eastern-92, 780; Bono-31, 932; Ahafo-22, 203; Bono East-39,804; Savannah-21, 754; Northern-66, 510; North East-24, 667; Upper East-43, 641, and Upper West-20, 656.
9,720 challenged cases
According to him, the Commission recorded 9,720 challenged cases, and served notice that individuals, who guaranteed for more than 10 applicants contrary to the registration law would be prosecuted.
“We have data on applicants, who guaranteed for more than 10 applicants against the law. We will submit the details to the Attorney General for advice,” he said.
105,863 apply to transfer votes
Mr Tettey said under the voter transfer window, some 105,863 registered voters applied to transfer their votes.
90% of applicants registered online
He said the issue of internet connectivity challenges, which was encountered on the first day, was resolved “swiftly” saying 90% of applicants registered online while only 10% registered offline,” he said..
He stated that the EC remained in favour of phasing out the guarantor system in the country’s registration process, saying the current system “is fraught with abuse”.
He appealed to the Government to release adequate resources to the National Identification Authority to enable it to deliver cards to applicants quickly.
The exercise was held at all the 268 District Offices of the Commission from Tuesday, September 12, 2023, to October 2, 2023, ahead of the upcoming District Level Elections.
The EC had projected registering 700,000 new applicants out of a projected 1.35 million, who were estimated to have turned 18 years since the last voter registration exercise in 2020.
