Accra, March 16, GNA - The Voters' Registration Exercise began throughout the country on Tuesday with many of the registrations centres visited by the Ghana News Agency starting the process on schedule at 0700 hours.
As promised by the Electoral Commission (EC) all the centres visited so far had all the requisite materials ready for the exercise. At the Christ The King Registration Centre Number CO 80522 of the Dade-Kotopon Constituency, Mr Richmond Laryea, the Registration Officer, said 10 people had registered by 0805 hours.
Two Party Agents from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and one from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) were present. They said they were recruited and trained by their respective Constituency Executives. All the Agents said everything had been going on smoothly. At the Flagstaff House Junior Secondary School Registration Centre Number CO 70103 of the Ayawaso East Constituency, Mr Edmund Adom, Registration Officer said six people had registered at 0820 when the GNA visited the Centre.
Two Party Agents one from the NPP and the other from NDC were present. They said the registration exercise started on schedule at 0700 hours and up to that time everything had gone on smoothly.
At some other centres in Accra, party agents of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have taken over the registration of voters as a result of the failure of designated registration officials to turn up for duty.
The EC had dumped the registration materials with the Registration Assistants hoping that the Registration Officers would report to do the work.
With the aid of the designated registration assistants, party agents at some centres at Kotobabi, Accra Newtown, Osu, Adabraka, Mamprobi, Nima and Kokomlemle said they mutually agreed to put national interest ahead of loyalty and party affiliations to assist in the process.
When the Ghana News Agency called at the centres between 0700 hours and 10:00, some of the registration officials for the centres had not turn-up, thereby creating a temporary hold-up and a state of bewilderment.
Some of the people who turned up at these centres with high hopes to register before attending to their daily duties were disappointed and left the place, blaming the EC and Government for the poor start.
In the Kotobabi area, registration materials for most of the centres were distributed late between 0830 and 0900 hours. Registration was to start at 0700 hours each day.
faith exhibited by the EC whom they accused of paying them a paltry 10,000 cedis as daily allowance for the job.
The registration officers complained that the amount was woefully inadequate and shrugged off an appeal by the Commission to them to sacrifice.
Describing the EC's appeal as untenable, some of registration officials alleged that EC's monitoring officials were being paid higher remunerations for the exercise, and therefore it was unfair to ask them - the people on the ground from 0630 hours to 1830 hours - to sacrifice. Ms Lucy Dzadey, a registration assistant at 'Kotobabi K3'
registration centre appealed to the EC to resolve the problem over their allowance as soon as possible to ensure a smooth exercise.
Meanwhile GNA observed a general slow start of the process, as most centres were virtually empty with officials just sorting out with the few people who turned-up to register.
