The Electoral Commission (EC) has said that it will not hesitate to sanction officials involved in the act of breaching the Coronavirus protocols by its officials at some voters’ registration centres.

A video circulating on social media has it that some registration officials at some centres are failing to clean the fingerprint scanners before and after their use, this according to the EC they have begun investigating the breaching of COVID-19 protocols.

The EC in a statement said, “The Electoral Commission’s (EC’s) attention has been drawn to a post circulating on social media about the failure of some registration officials at certain centres to clean fingerprint scanners before and after their use. It is important to note that the Commission as part of anti-COVID-19 protocols instructed officials to sanitize the hands of all applicants before and after every process.”

The Commission has taken the issue up and investigation has begun. The EC will not hesitate to take the necessary action against any official found to be negligent in the observance of the COVID-19 protocols. Additionally, the EC has alerted its monitoring teams to put that agenda on their radar as well as re-echo the precautionary measures to its temporary staff.

The EC introduced the queue management system at all of its registration centres to tackle issues with overcrowding.

The queue management system will ensure that the first 150 applicants who arrive at the registration centres will be provided with “numbered chits”, according to the EC.

The first half of this number will be served from morning to early afternoon, while the second half will be asked to leave the centres and return in the afternoon when the registration process for the first batch has been completed.

Below is the full statements:

The Electoral Commission’s (EC’s) attention has been drawn to a post circulating on social media about the failure of some registration officials at certain centres to clean fingerprint scanners before and after their use.

It is important to note that the Commission as part of anti-COVID-19 protocols instructed officials to sanitize the hands of all applicants before and after every process.

Officials have been directed to also clean the fingerprint scanners with a wet wipe after every use during the intensive training organized for them before the exercise began.

The Commission has taken the issue up and investigation has begun. The EC will not hesitate to take the necessary action against any official found to be negligent in the observance of the COVID-19 protocols.

Additionally, the EC has alerted its monitoring teams to put that agenda on their radar as well as re-echo the precautionary measures to its temporary staff.

Safety of applicants is foremost in the registration process and the Commission will go to any length to observe the measures outlined by the Ghana Health Service.

Individuals are encouraged to draw the attention of registration officials to any anomaly to ensure the safety of everybody participating in the registration exercise.

The Commission reiterates its commitment to the safety protocols and urges applicants to collaborate with registration officials by observing the safety protocols, which include wearing face masks, washing hands, checking temperature and sanitizing hands before and after the registration exercise in order to keep safe.