The Electoral Commission (EC) has denied that a picture of overcrowding being circulated on social media is one of its registration centres.
“Our attention has also been drawn to a photograph making rounds on social media purporting to be a scene at the registration centre. The photograph does not show the usual registration centre set up that characterises all EC’s registration centres. It just shows a large crowd gathered together in an area.”
“Again, the originator of the photograph does not indicate the registration centre where the photograph was taken,” it explained.
The commission in its statement signed by the Acting Director of Public Affairs, Sylvia Annoh, asked the public to disregard the reports on social media and treat it with the contempt it deserved.
The law regulating the 2020 elections requires that applicants who do not have a passport or the Ghana card can have two registered voters vouching for them.
The Commission also clarified that a guarantor could guarantee for up to ten people without being disenfranchised, contrary to an audio circulating on social media to that effect.
It, however, said that “C.I. 126 expressly states that guarantors can guarantee for up to ten (10) people. They will not be disenfranchised. This is not true.
“However, any individual who guarantees for more than ten (10) persons will be picked up by our system and prosecuted.”
We’re working to prevent overcrowding at registration centres
The EC in its statement also said it was working to reduce the overcrowding at its registration centres across the country.
The commission began the compilation of a new voters’ register on Tuesday, June 30, 2020.
Reports from across the country revealed a massive disregard for the COVID-19 safety protocols, especially social distancing characterized the exercise.
In a statement, the EC acknowledged the challenges, saying it was working to ensure there is no overcrowding in the subsequent days.
“All in all reports reaching the Commission depict a positive turnout at all the registration centres. The Commission is aware that some centres recorded high numbers leading to some overcrowding. We are taking steps to work with the security agencies to address possible overcrowding at our registration centres,” the Commission assured.
The registration which is being conducted across six thousand seven hundred and eighty-eight clusters simultaneously will be completed on August 6, 2020.
