The NDC parliamentary candidate for the Ayawaso West Wuogon constituency, John Dumelo, has called on the Electoral Commission (EC) to extend the registration period at university campuses.
He emphasized that this extension would enable more first-time voters to register and prevent them from being disenfranchised in the upcoming December elections.
Speaking to TV3, Mr. Dumelo highlighted that only a small fraction of first-time voters have successfully registered at the Legon campus, with approximately 300 out of nearly 7,000 individuals registered.
He said:
My main concern is the university campuses, especially Legon campus. You have thousands of students who are eligible voters, you have thousands of students who are first-time voters. As we speak, only about 300 out of maybe over 7,000 have been registered, and today is the last day for the campuses.
I think that it is something which is of great concern to us that they should be able to extend, especially the Legon campus so that most of the students would be able to register; if not, they would be disenfranchised.
His request follows the technical difficulties that have affected the registration process nationwide. In response to these challenges, the Commission stated on Wednesday instructing all District Officers to transition to offline mode on May 9 to expedite the registration process.
Moreover, the Commission assured stakeholders that “should there be a backlog of voters at the end of the twenty-one (21) day process, the registration exercise will be extended beyond the 27th of May, 2024 deadline.”
Here’s the commission’s full statement;
The Commission wishes to inform all its stakeholders and the General Public that some challenges were experienced with the network this afternoon, affecting the Online mode of registration.
The Commission has directed its District Officers to switch to the Offline mode of registration beginning tomorrow, the 9th of May, 2024. The Commission apologizes for the delays experienced this afternoon.
The Commission assures its stakeholders that, should there be a backlog of voters at the end of the twenty-one (21) day process, the Registration Exercise will be extended beyond the 27th of May, 2024 deadline.
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