Politics of Wednesday, 23 September 2020

Source: GNA

Low voter turnout blamed on poor publicity

The exhibition give registrants the opportunity to verify their details The exhibition give registrants the opportunity to verify their details

Some exhibition officers in the ongoing voter register exhibition have blamed poor patronage of the exercise on low publicity.

“Many people are not aware of the exercise. Others too do not know the relevance, so only a few people pass by,” Mr Richmond Ahadjie, the Exhibition Officer at the Crystal City Centre One at Adabraka in Accra, told the Ghana News Agency on Tuesday.

“When they come around to check their names, you can easily deduce from their demeanour that they do not understand the purpose for which the exercise is being embarked on.”

He said some people had also asked friends and relations to check their details for them and described it as “unfortunate.”

Mr Peter Kumordzi, the Exhibition Officer at the Additrom Day Care Exhibition Centre, said intense publicity would help citizens appreciate the benefits of the exercise and use the opportunity to rectify errors to enable them to vote in December.

As at 1030 hours when the GNA visited the Crystal City Exhibition Centres One and Two, about 90 prospective voters had validated their details.

At the Additrom Day Care Exhibition Centre, more than 210 out of a total 666 prospective voters had visited the Centre and authenticated details on their cards.

Madam Victoria Asomaniwaa, a resident at Adabraka, who had successfully checked her details, said: “They only took my ID card, checked my name and picture in the register. All my details are correct. The process didn’t take more than three minutes.”

She described the process as simple and promised to talk to her household and neighbours to visit the centre to check their details.

At the Christ the King School Centres One, Two and Three, a total of 145 people had gone to check their details out of an expected 2,093 prospective voters.

The GNA noticed that all the COVID-19 safety protocols were being observed at the centres.