Akim Oda (E/R), March, 15, GNA - As part of the nationwide replacement of missing voter's identification cards, the Electoral Commission (EC) in the Birim Central Municipality (BCM), on Friday commenced the exercise on a poor note. From Friday, March 14 to Sunday, March 23, the EC will embark on a replacement exercise to address cases of lost voter's I.D. cards. The exercise is between 0700 hours and 1800 hours each day, including weekends.

At about 1600 hours when the Ghana News Agency (GNA) visited one out of the 54 polling stations in the municipality, there was only a voter who replaced his lost voter's I.D card. Speaking in an interview with the GNA at Akim Oda, Mr. John Appiah Baffoe, Municipal Electoral Officer, said the exercise was different from all other electoral processes, because if the electorate in the municipality took good care of their cards, then one should expect a poor turn out.

He said: "This means that the people here know how worthy the cards are and rather need to be commended for keeping them safely". The Officer noted that the on-going exercise was to ensure that the present voting consciousness of the electorate could provide the needed impetus for voters to rush to their respective polling centres to exercise their franchise on a polling day. According to him: "The exercise would in doubt help to deepen good governance in the country," adding that, the idea of the on-going replacement of the lost cards was a welcome one, since this could allow those who had lost their voting ID cards to replace them. Mr. Baffoe explained: "It is also aimed at helping to fast-track the voting process at the polling stations on voting day". He cautioned that possession of more than one legitimate voter's ID card and buying or attempting to exchange the voter's ID card for something else, were punishable offences.