The Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) has said some agents of the National Democratic Congress and the New Patriotic Party abused the challenge process, thus unduly delaying the registration process on Thursday.

CODEO Observers said these agents contested the eligibility of almost every registrant on the first day of the Limited Biometric Registration Exercise, which the Electoral Commission expects to capture 1.2 million first-time voters.

Although the challenge process was generally observed in the various centres, the Coalition noted that there were cases where the procedure was exploited by party agents, Mr Albert Kofi Arhin, CODEO’s National Coordinator said in a statement, copied to the Ghana News Agency.

“Some party agents, particularly, those representing the NDC and the NPP seemed to be outdoing each other by challenging applicants,” Mr Arhin, a former Director of Elections at the EC, was quoted in the statement.

“Almost all the 20 registrants who had gone through the registration process by 1:40pm at the Boadua Presby Primary School in the Boadua East Electoral Area in the Dekyembuor District of the Eastern Region, had their registration challenged by agents of either the NDC or the NPP,” he added.

The party agents were also reported to have engaged in practices and behaviours described as “unacceptable” at some centres.

Mr Arhin said: “Party agents were initially collecting registration details of new registrants after they had gone through the process at the Anglican Primary School Registration centre in the West Lower Prampram Electoral Area, in the Greater Accra Region.

“The registration officials, however, intervened and curtailed the practice.”

He said similar incidents of misuse of the challenge process were reported at other locations, including Enyan Maim Ahmadiyya Centre in the Enyan Maim Electoral Area in the Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam District of the Central Region.

However, the Coalition observed that in spite of the pockets of misconduct, the national exercise started well.

“CODEO can confirm that, so far, the registration exercise has generally proceeded smoothly, amidst intermittent rains in parts of the country,” Mr Arhin said.

“Many registration centers opened on time the statutory 7:00am, while the required materials and equipment were also available,” he stated.

The registration devices and equipment generally functioned well, he said, but he noted that there were instances of minor initial problems of malfunctioning equipment leading to delays.

“At the Palnaba Registration Centre in the Sarabogo-Deega Electoral Area in Pusiga in the Upper East Region, for example, a faulty printer caused undue delay in the registration process, with no registrant being issued a voter ID as at 3:00PM today,” he said.

Registration officials largely complied with rules and procedures, he said, but he added that, some observers reported cases of registration officials wrongly applying the registration requirement rule.

“At the Cholten Square, BOPP Registration Centre in Odumase-BOPP Electoral Area in the Mpohor District of the Western Region, registration officials were asking for National Health Insurance (NHIS) cards from applicants for proof of eligibility,” Mr Arhin said.

“At the Jirapa Local Council Centre in the Nayiri Electoral Area, Jirapa, Upper West Region, a Data Entry Clerk skipped the registration process by taking the photograph of the first registrant for the day, who had not gone through the interview process.”

“Most applicants lacked any form of ID and resorted to the use of guarantors,” he said.

The coalition urged qualified citizens to use the remaining days to get their names into the voters’ register and implored political parties to call their agents to order.

It also appealed to the Electoral Commission to quickly assess the first exercise and address the emerging challenges to help improve the registration exercise in the, subsequent, days.

CODEO has deployed 250 observers nationwide to oversee the conduct of the two-week exercise.

The deployment follows CODEO’s conclusion of a training session organised for the observers; after it received accreditation for the exercise from the EC.

The observers have been dispatched to all the 216 districts across the country and they would observe both the first and second phases of the exercise.

“CODEO will observe proceedings at registration centers, including the opening of the centers, the availability of registration materials and functioning of equipment, the conduct of election officials, compliance to registration rules and procedures as captured in Constitutional Instrument (C.I) 91, and turn-out for the exercise,” it said in a statement before the exercise.

The Coalition said it would share its findings with the public and called on the EC to step up its publicity, particularly, on the modalities for the exercise.

“CODEO entreats political parties and all Ghanaians to refrain from acts that can negatively affect the smooth conduct of the exercise,” it said.

“CODEO also wants to use the opportunity to call on the media and all stakeholders to support public education about the registration exercise.”

The Coalition entreated qualified Ghanaians, especially the youth, to show up and register.

CODEO’s observation of the 2016 limited voter registration exercise forms part of the Coalition’s comprehensive observation of this year’s election.