Regional News of Monday, 7 December 2020

Source: GNA

Resilience pushed me to vote - Pensioner

Mr Albert Osei Wusu, a pensioner casting his vote Mr Albert Osei Wusu, a pensioner casting his vote

Mr Albert Osei Wusu, a pensioner, who nearly lost his right to vote due to challenges with the Biometric Verification Device says “resilience” pushed him until the third attempt to vote was successful.

Mr Osei Wusu, a retired educationist, was finally cleared to vote at 1330 hours after arriving at the centre at 0900 hours.

He told the Ghana News Agency that he arrived at the Temporal Booth Chopbar One, near Sowutuon in the Anyaa-Sowutuom Constituency with his physically challenged brother who was successful at the first attempt.

Mr Owusu, whose facials and fingers could not be verified on two occasions, was asked to step aside.

“I was resilient and very much determined to vote today,” he said.

He said after trying effortlessly to check into the system at the polling station, he was advised to visit the Electoral Commission’s office at Sowutuon last stop to report the issue, where a technician was dispatched to fix the problem.

But the journey had to be abandoned when his third attempt paid off, brightening his facial makeup drown in disappointment.

After casting his ballot, he told the GNA that he wanted to vote at all cost because it was his national responsibility and civic right to vote to ” elect my leader”.

“My patience and focus on the exercise made me succeed in voting''...he said

Meanwhile, voting continues to move slowly but surely at most of the polling visited at Anyaa-Sowutuom Constituency as at 1300 hours.

However, a few other stations at Santa Maria Drug store and Sowutuom had long queues with enthusiastic voters waiting anxiously for their turn to vote.

Those who spoke to the GNA said they waited to allow the early morning long queues to reduced before they got to the stations.

Mr Ishmeal Amaqunor, Presiding Officer at the Temp Booth Chopbar One polling station, said as, at 14:26 hours, a total of 407 out of 743 voters had cast their ballots.