As of Monday, 20 July 2020, a total of 9,860,164 applicants had been registered by the Electoral Commission, representing 65.7% of the projected registrable figure of 15,000,000 in the ongoing voter registration exercise across the country, the election management body has disclosed.
According to the EC, “the deployment of more kits to the registration centres, the increase in the number of mobile teams and back-ups and immediate replacement of faulty kits, have resulted in the relative increase in the number of persons registered in phase 3.”
Regional breakdown:
WESTERN – 618,217
CENTRAL – 916,848
GREATER ACCRA – 2,128,515
VOLTA – 587,137
EASTERN – 935,296
ASHANTI – 1,773,601
WESTERN NORTH – 263,543
BONO – 394,425
OTI – 195,552
AHAFO – 187,995
BONO EAST – 338,867
SAVANNAH – 168,885
NORTHERN – 584,858
NORTH EAST – 161,908
UPPER WEST – 262,220
UPPER EAST – 342,297
Speaking at a press conference in Accra on Wednesday, 22 July 2020, the Chairperson of the commission, Mrs Jean Mensa, also gave details about the number of registrants about whom challenges have been filed against.
“In spite of the fact that the raw number of filed cases rose from 4,144 in phase 2 to 6,007, the percentage decreased from 0.19% to 0.16%, respectively. We encourage the use of the due process to resolve the registration of all perceived or known unqualified persons.”
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The EC chair also raised concerns about the “ugly incidents of violence” recorded in some registration centres, which according to the EC, are as a result of “blatant disregard for the lawful challenge system.”
The EC also identified that the alleged busing of applicants from one area to the other to register is the major underlying cause of the violence being experienced at registration centres.
