Accra, Sept.26, GNA -- Voting in the District Level Elections started throughout the country with generally low patronage even though the Electoral Commission (EC) had in many instances provided the necessary materials and personnel at the various polling stations. At the BOD Polling Station of the Lakoo Electoral Area in the Dade Kotopon Constituency in the Greater Accra Region there were no voters when the GNA visited the polling station.

The Presiding Officer of the Station refused to talk to the media, claiming that they had been told during their training not to talk to journalists.

The five candidates contesting the electoral seat are the incumbent Ms Freda Prempeh, 40, a Public Relations Officer; Aaron Anang Akrong, Electrician; Daniel Mensah Odoi, 29, Marketer; Esther Obetsebi-Lamptey, 55, Businesswoman and Joseph Christopher Bruce, 30, Electrician.

The representatives of all the candidates were present. At the Christ the King School Polling Station of Lakoo Electoral Area electoral materials had not arrived at 0805 hours. The Presiding Officer, Mr Mensah Bokor said when he called the EC the officer in charge told him that they were on their way to his area. The representatives of all the candidates were present and there was only one voter waiting to cast his vote.

Voting in district levels elections begins smoothly in Kumasi

Kumasi, Sept. 26, GNA 96 Voting in the district level and unit committee elections began smoothly at all polling centres in the Kumasi metropolis.
Polling centres the Ghana News Agency visited on Tuesday morning in the metropolis, had received all their election materials while security personnel were also at post.
However, voting was very slow as there were no queues and in some instances, not a single voter on sight. Election officials were, however, optimistic that, the situation would change in the course of the day.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency, Mr Isaac Kofi Asumaning, Ashanti Regional Director of the Electoral Commission (EC), said materials had been dispatched to all polling centres in the region while security personnel had also been engaged in all the centres.
He said the EC had not yet received any report on problem in the conduct of the elections and hoped the electorates would go out in their numbers to vote.
There are 229 candidates including 32 women, contesting for 60 electoral seats in the Kumasi metropolis.
In the whole of the Ashanti region, 2,670 candidates are contesting for the 840 electoral seats. They include 318 women.
Some 16,427 candidates are also contesting for the 2747 electoral units in the Ashanti region.
At the Ayeduase electoral area, there was low turn outs at most polling stations as few people queued to cast their ballots. When the GNA visited the Kotei-Deduako M/A polling station, 31 people out of 896 registered voters had cast their votes as of 0810 hours.
At the Ayeduase R/C primary school polling station, 12 people out of the 972 registered voters had cast their ballots as of 0740 hours while at the Ayeduase New Site polling station, 10 people out of 745 registered voters had voted as of 0725 hours.
Voting had, however, not commenced at the Twumduase polling station as at 0715 hours when GNA arrived there.
Mr Akwasi Mahama, the Returning Officer, told the GNA that most voting materials had not arrived, adding that the only material available was the 10 checklist book.
He was, however, optimistic that the materials would be brought soon to allow the registered voters exercise their franchise. At the Adadiem (Suame Post Office) polling centre, a total of 112 people had voted out of 2,735 registered voters. When the GNA visited the centre at about 0900 hours, people were seen trickling in one after the other but at long intervals to exercise their franchise. Mr Nti Boateng, the Returning Officer who spoke to the GNA said though the voting process was slow, the situation would change in course of the day because most people might have gone to do their businesses in the early part of the day. Miss Beatrice Owusuaa-Kwabi, Returning Officer for Nsuase-Adum polling centre where less than 50 had voted out of 500 as of 0925 hours, attributed the low turn-out to general apathy by the electorate. At Nana Agyapong's polling station at Atimatim in the Kwabre district, 53 voters out of the 1,547 registered voters had cast their votes as at 0830 hours.
The Presiding Officer, Mr Paul Nsowaah, attributed the low turn out of voters to the fact that many of the residents had lost interest in the district assembly concept.
Miss Veronica Nsiah-Ababio, Presiding Officer of the local authority primary school polling station also said 81 out of 1,716 registered voters had cast their votes as at 0845 hours.
At the Lighthouse polling station, 51 voters out of 1,496 registered voters had cast their votes as at 0900 hours, according to the Presiding officer, Mr Kuwonu Amenyo.