The Electoral Commission as on the 16th day of the on-going registration exercise has registered a total of 7,279,237 which constitute 48.5 percent of the 15million expected to be registered by the first week of August.
With the close of the 3rd Phase of the registration ending yesterday, the Commission believed the likelihood of adding at least 1,000,000 to the 7,279,237 making a total of 8.2 million which would represent 54.7 per cent of the projected 15 million.
Dr Bossman Asare, Deputy Commissioner at the EC, made this known during the bi-weekly media interaction by the EC aimed at demystifying all activities of the Commission ahead of the 2020 General Election.
Dr Asare said the Greater Accra Region leads with 1,524,600 (20.9 per cent), the Ashanti Region followed with 1,319,498 (18.1 per cent), Bono: 293,284 (4.0), Bono East: 261,503 (3.6), Central: 676,484 (9.3), Eastern: 694,541 (9.5) and Ahafo: 144,961(1.6).
The rest were Northern: 434,601 (6.0), North East: 123,715 (1.7), Oti: 148,111 (2.0), Savannah: 126,980 (1.7), Upper East: 251,134 (3.5), Volta: 447, 254, (6.1),Western: 440,858 (6.1),Western North: 196,819 (2.7).
Dr Asare said all the figures being announced were provisional until the registration was completed in the first week of August adding that it was as a result of that the Commission detected the anomalies in the Ashanti Region before the issues of bloating the register was raised by the National Democratic Congress in the region.
“It is very strange that at the time the Commission has deepened transparency in the entire registration process, some people still accuse the Commission of increasing the number of registered voters in certain regions,” he said.
He said the Commission would welcome suggestions and constructive criticism that would enhance its ability to serve better to have a credible and clean register.
He said the Commission would return to the Senior High Schools without registration centres today after a similar exercise last week adding the Prisons across the country would also be covered this time.
Dr Asare said the Commission was resolved to ensure all qualified Ghanaians register to vote in the 2020 election assuring all unregistered voters that the registration teams would be at the registration centres in their communities to register them.
BY LAWRENCE MARKWEI
