Mop Exercise was successful, EC

An EC official taking electorate through the process in Tema

THE Electoral Commission (EC) has described the two-day limited biometric voters registration mop up as generally successful, useful and peaceful.

The exercise, which took place in eight out of the 10 regions last Saturday and Sunday, was meant to enable eligible voters who could not participate in the main exercise for various legitimate reasons to do so.

The 187 mop-up centres were scattered in the Western, Greater Accra, Volta, Eastern, Ashanti, Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions.

Speaking to the Daily Graphic, a Principal Public Relations Director at the EC, Mrs Sylvia Anno, said the commission would add information on those captured in the two-day exercise to the data captured during the 40-day national exercise.

She also hinted that some of the district registration review committees had completed their work, while others were in the final stages, writes Donald Ato Dapatem.

According to Mrs Anno, those who were cleared as being eligible to register would be given their voters identity cards and their names kept in the national register, while those who could not pass the test would have their names deleted from the national roll and their cards seized.

She added that the EC was on course to produce a complete new voters roll and gave an assurance that the provisional register would be displayed in August for voters to cross-check their names and other details.

The EC, she said, was also at the moment hearing challenge cases against some prospective voters whose right to register and vote had been questioned by political party agents.

The mop-up exercise in the Greater Accra Region took place at Okaikoi in the Accra metropolis and Shai Osudoku in the Dangme West District, reports Della Russel Ocloo.

Fourteen centres across Tema East, Tema West and Kpone Katamanso, al in the Tema metropolis, also took turns to register eligible voters.

At the Klagon TMA Primary School, a malfunctioning equipment delayed the conduct of the exercise for about two hours.

The registration officer, Mr Matthew Oppong, told the Daily Graphic that the few persons who thronged the centre were, therefore, made to wait for some time until the equipment was repaired.

The Tema Metropolitan Director of the EC, Mr Gabriel Manu, who commended the smooth conduct of the exercise, said although official figures on the number of people captured were yet to be compiled, an estimated 2,000 people were registered in the two-day exercise within the designated centres in the Tema area.

From Tamale, Vincent Amenuveve reports that the mop-up exercise ended smoothly on Sunday at all the 48 registration centres in the Northern Region.

According to the Northern Regional Director of the EC, Mr Sylvester Kanyi, the exercise was expected to register more people and increase the number of eligible voters in the region.

He explained that initially 55 centres were designated for the exercise.

The centres, he said, were those that could not work for six days or more during the first four phases of the BVR between March 24 and May 5, this year.

From Kumasi, Kwame Asare Boadu reports that  the voters registration mop-up exercise in Kumasi went on peacefully, with officials describing the response as good for an exercise of such nature.

Bantama, Subin, Kwadaso and Manhyia were the four designated centres within the metropolis where the exercise took place.

At the Subin Centre located at the Kumasi Polytechnic, 77 people had registered as of 1.30 p.m. on Sunday, while 40 people had been registered at the Kwadaso Centre as of press time on Sunday.

Quite significantly, the registration was carried out in an atmosphere of peace, a far departure from what happened during the main exercise.

The Ashanti Regional Director of the EC, Mr Samuel Tettey, told the Daily Graphic that his outfit had received “good” reports from other centres across the region.

While expressing satisfaction with the response, he was also impressed by the general comportment of political parties and their followers during the exercise.

 “This is an exercise that is not supposed to register large numbers but at least we can all say we have achieved the purpose, as some people might have been disenfranchised had it not been the mop up,” he said.

Rose Hayford Darko reports from Tema Newtown that many people were not aware of the exercise due to low publicity.

It was when they saw the equipment and officials at the centres that news went round that a mop-up exercise was going on.  

At the Shining School Centre at Tema Newtown, 23 people had registered as of 9.30 a.m., while seven had registered at the Rahmaniya Centre, also at Tema Newtown, as of the same time.

Eleven people had registered at the Fantoms School Centre in Tema West about 11 a.m., while 23 had registered at the Chief Bello Islamic School Centre at Zeenu at the same time.

There were no equipment breakdowns and queues as the registration officers waited for people to trickle in to register.

Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu reports from Sekondi/Takoradi that only 48 centres were considered by the EC for the mop-up exercise in the Western Region.

By the end of the Saturday session, some centres had registered about 100 people, while others had registered between 20 and 25 eligible voters.

The exercise took place in Nzema East, Ahanta West, Tarkwa, Prestea-Huni Valley, Jomoro, Ellembele, Amenfi East, Amenfi West and Amenfi Central.

The rest are Aowin-Suaman, Bibiani-Anwiaso-Bekwai, Mpohor-Wassa East, Juaboso and Bia.

The Western Regional Director of the EC, Mr Steven Opoku Manu, said the process was very orderly and very encouraging, as those who presented themselves went through the process without any difficulties.

Victor Kwawukume reports from Ho  that the Akatsi District was the only district in the Volta Region where the mop-up exercise took place, centres in the district having recorded major challenges during the main exercise.

The Volta Regional Director of the EC,  Madam Laurentia Kpatakpa, told the Daily Graphic that five registration centres in the district had experienced continuous breakdown of equipment during the main exercise.

She said in spite of that, people had found their way to other centres to register, adding that it was only fair to the people of the area that a mop-up exercise was held there.

Madam Kpatakpa said the mop up had gone on peacefully and not registered any problems, either with equipment or officials.

SOURCE: Daily Graphic, Mon June, 2012