Politics of Friday, 1 August 2008

Source: GNA

Voter registration starts in Tamale on a slow note

Tamale, Aug 1, GNA - The limited voter registration exercise started on a slow note in the Tamale Metropolis compelling prospective registrants to call for more registration centres to facilitate the 11-day exercise. The registration is also characterised by poor voter education on the designated registration centres, making people to wait unduly at some undesignated centres for electoral officials.

When the GNA visited the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) Area Registration Centre in the Tamale Central constituency, it was realised that the centre had been shifted to the Queen Elizabeth Day Care centre at Tishigu where other centres had been paired. Six persons including Mr. Abass Rufai, a representative of the NPP, were waiting at the ADB centre for electoral officers as at 0800 hours because they had no idea where the centre had been moved to. Long queues had formed at all the designated centres, which the GNA visited but the registration exercise was slow. At the A.M.E. Zion Junior High School Centre at Kukuo in the Tamale South constituency, only one person had registered as at 0915 hours

while many others were waiting in a long queue to be registered. At the Legion Registration Centre also in the Tamale South constituency, as at 0830 hours, the exercise had not yet started because some people had engaged the electoral officials and wanted to know those eligible to register. At the Inter Royals Registration Centre at the Kalpohin Estates in the Tamale North constituency, 18 persons had registered as at 0820 hours while others, mainly men, were waiting patiently to go through the exercise. There was no problem with logistics at all the centres that the GNA visited.