A total of 401 out of the 202,206 registrants in the Central Region have had their registration challenged during the first phase of the ongoing new voter registration exercise in the region.

Mr Alex Sakyi Manu, the Deputy Regional Director of the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Cape Coast, said those challenged have been referred to the District Registration Review Committees (DRRC) of the various districts.

Of the 202,206 registrants, 138,291 registered with the Ghana Card, 2,250 used passport, and 61,069 through guarantors.

Giving the breakdown, Mr Manu said the Mfantseman Municipal recorded the highest of 15,750 registrants followed by the Awutu Senya East district with 14,855.

Cape Coast Metropolis had 12,160 with Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem (KEEA), Gomoa West and East, Effutu, Agona West and Awutu Senya West, recording more than 11,000.

The Assin North District, however, recorded the lowest number of 3,859 at the end of the first phase.

The Deputy Regional Director described the first phase of the registration process in the region as very successful despite the challenge of non-adherence to the social distancing protocol at some registration centres.

“I will say this has been one of the most peaceful. We are doing our best to ensure 100 percent compliance with the COVID-19 protocols. We have had no technical challenges and the cooperation from the security and the political parties have been excellent”, he said.

He called on the public to comply with the COVID-19 preventive protocols established at various registration centres to avoid the spread of the virus. GNA