24,000 multiple registrants will be dragged to court – EC

The Electoral Commission (EC) says the about 24,000 Ghanaians cited for engaging in multiple registrations will be arraigned before district courts.

The Director of Electoral Services at the Commission, Dr. Serebuor Quaicoe told Citi News that the cases were discovered in the ongoing audit of the limited voter registration exercise which ended last month.

The 24,000 persons will be facing fines or jail time or both for the alleged offence.

“When you appear, you will tell your story. If the magistrate is convinced that it was just a mistake, one of the names will be deleted and you will have your name restored. If he is not convinced, we will remove your name and the magistrate will also give you a sentence.”

The details of the cited persons will be dispatched to the various centres across the country for the appropriate action to be taken.

Dr. Serebuor Quaicoe noted that some persons could be pardoned if the multiple registrations occurred at the same centre, as a result, of genuine mistakes.

“But some of them registered at different centres with different registration details. These people were identified with the thumbprint and the system exposed them,” he added.

About 1.2 million new voters  were registered under the limited voter registration exercise.

Out of that number, the registration of 8,500 new voters was challenged by observers.