EC Eats Humble Pie; Suspend Voters Registration Exercise

The Electoral Commission (EC) has suspended its planned compilation of a new voters register due to the novel coronavirus scare.

It was initially scheduled for April 18, 2020, but no new date has been announced.

Speaking to journalists after an Inter-Party Advisory Committee meeting on Wednesday, the EC's Director of Electoral Services, Dr. Serebour Quaicoe, said the commission is collaborating with health experts to decide on a more favourable date depending on the prevalence rate of the virus.

“We had planned to do the registration on the [18th of April] but because of the pandemic, we can't do it on the 18th so we are observing what is happening around Ghana and the global issue,” Mr. Quaicoe said to the press.

This announcement was expected following earlier comments made by the General Secretary of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), John Boadu, after the meeting Wednesday.

He said the date for the registration was “likely to change depending on how it [the handling of the virus] goes.”

His comments also came after the EC said it will announce a new date for the compilation of the new register.

Currently, he said the commission is “feverishly” putting in place its plans

“The software for the new register is almost ready. They [the EC] are waiting for the hardware,” he added.

–citinewsroom