The Ashanti Regional Secretary for the National Democratic Congress, Kwame Zu has emphatically stated that he trusts that, the new voters’ registration exercise scheduled in the last week of June will not happen regardless of the pilot voters’ registration exercise in selected locations across the country.

According to him, Ghana needs no new register for elections to happen on December 7, therefore the exercise is a waste of country’s resources and precious time in such a threatening time of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Why do they need the names again? We have a register that has valid identities eligible for voting,” he said in an interview.

“This same register brought Nana Addo to power and there is nothing wrong with it. If the Electoral Commission considers that the names should be redrafted, we have come to witness how things would turn up.

"What does the pilot stand for? We have no clue hence our presence here. The voters’ registration we believe will never happen,“ he confidently proclaimed.

The Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana is embarking on a two-day pilot registration exercise on a short-term experiment of resources to learn how the large exercise will happen. The program began on Tuesday, June 2, 2020, and will end on Wednesday across the country. The experimental process of the EC in the Ashanti Region is taking place at the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) Kumasi Danyame.

Per Kwame Zu’s utterances, the NDC attended to the call of the Electoral Commission because they are mandated to work hand in hand with political parties to accomplish their goals therefore failure to honor to their call is an unpatriotic hence their involvement.

He complained that the Electoral Commission has flouted on the COVID-19 prevention protocols outlined by government which puts a lot of Ghanaian lives at risk.

“We received a message from the Electoral Commission regarding the Pilot voter’s register. You are all aware that political parties work hand in hand with the EC and it is the mandate of the NDC to respond to their call unless it is not for the best reason,” he said.

“We spoke that they should be fair in their dealings to everyone and that is what they heeded and working towards.

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“Coronavirus is in our midst and there was the need for the various protocols to be observed. The location of the event is not favoring and we are expecting an improvement,” he complained.

The Ashanti Regional Electoral Commission Officer, Mr. Benjamin Bannor Bio narrated that the process of the piloting exercise is an improved one as compared to the former assuring that various measures were put in place to observe the protocols of COVID-19.

On the machines employed for the work, Mr. Bannor defined its purpose as effective and will to speed up activities and provide accurate results. 

“The fingerprints used today is more potent than that of the former. The previous machine was ineffectual and voters had to clean their thumbs with alcohol sometimes before registering, but this is quite different.

"The picture quality is clear than the former and the card has a watertight compartment with compactness meaning it can be soaked in water for a considerable amount of time without affecting the details,” he said.

He explained that one must be a citizen of Ghana, must be 18 years of age or above and of sound mind before he/she can partake in the new registration exercise.  

He added that the person must be a resident or ordinarily resident in an electoral area; and is not prohibited by any law in force from registering as a voter. Proof of eligibility was also spoken to be provided, either a Ghana passport or Ghana Card.