Paul Afoko tours registration centres

The National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Paul Afoko, has bemoaned the alleged interferences by some government officials at some registration centres in the Western Region in the ongoing limited voter registration exercise.

He indicated that it was pathetic to learn that some government officials, particularly, District Chief Executives in the region, were alleged to have been meddling in the registration process.

“Our people are on the ground, and I’ve been told that some District Chief Executives in the region on several occasions visit some of the centres to interact with the registration officials and only God knows what they discuss,” he asserted.

He also said that because their representatives at the centres were very vigilant, he believed nothing untoward would happen at any of the centres that the government officials allegedly visited or would visit.

The NPP national chairman was speaking to DAILY GUIDE last Sunday after he had visited some of the registration centres in the region, particularly those at the border towns, to monitor the ongoing limited voter registration exercise in those areas.

He was also in the area to encourage people in the various communities who had attained the age of 18 years to eschew apathy and rush to the registration centres to register.

The monitoring exercise saw the NPP national chairman visiting the Ahanta West, Evalue Gwira, Jomoro, Ellembelle and Tarkwa-Nsuaem constituencies, all in the region.

Mr. Afoko told DAILY GUIDE that he was also not happy with the incessant breakdown of the printers, particularly in areas perceived to be the strongholds of his party.

“I realised that what the registration officers were doing was that they will sometimes take printers from areas the officials think have low turnout and send them to areas which have high turnout, thereby depriving those at the low turnout centres of printers," he added.

The NPP national chairman indicated that the registration exercise was the only means to allow people to exercise their franchise in subsequent elections as patriotic citizens.

He pointed out that it was also the first step of the NPP’s victory in 2016 general elections.

He congratulated all polling agents of the NPP for doing a good job in protecting the party’s interests in the ongoing exercise.

He, however, urged them to remain very vigilant in the last few days of the exercise.

“Let me indicated that in all, I realised there were no serious challenges except low turnout at most of the centres, which was attributed to the fact that the public education prior to the exercise was not enough."

Some Regional Executives of the NPP, who accompanied the national chairman included Dickson Nketsiah, Regional Chairman, Charles Bissue, Regional Secretary, Ernest Nkrumah, Research Officer and other past regional executives of the party.