Regional News of Tuesday, 16 March 2004

Source: GNA

Registration of voters begins peacefully in Eastern Region

Koforidua, Mar. 16, GNA- The registration of voters in the Eastern Region began on Tuesday without problems in the New Juaben Municipality, as many eligible voters trooped to registration centres to register. At about 0700 hours, people began forming queues at the registration centres anxious to register before going to work.

The Ghana News Agency (GNA) visited some registration centres and found that the exercise was going on smoothly.

However at some centres, it was discovered that some eligible voters were being disenfranchised because their houses, which bore numbers beyond "D 46" and "E 46" were not captured in the registration forms and therefore could not be registered.

They, therefore, called on the EC to come out with an early solution to enable them to register within the two-week period. It was discovered that only the NPP and NDC had agents at all the centres visited.

At the Effiduase Methodist Primary School, where 34 persons had registered as at 0930 hours, an under 18-year-old welding apprentice who attempted to register but was challenged told the GNA that even though he would be 18 in June, he thought he would be qualified to cast his vote by the December elections.

Another suspected unqualified boy who was challenged also bolted from the scene.

Speaking to the GNA, the Eastern Regional Secretary of the NPP, Mr Alecs Agobo, said his party had posted two agents to each of the 2,607 registration centres in the 28 constituencies in the region.