Voters register exhibition begins tomorrow

Exhibition of the provisional voters register will take place simultaneously in all the 38,622 polling stations across the country from tomorrow, Friday, November 3, to next Tuesday, November 7,  the Electoral Commission (EC) has announced.

The EC said the exercise would start from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. each day to enable eligible voters to check their details in both the 2020 and 2023 voters registers which would be displayed at the various polling stations and not the EC’s district offices.

The purpose of the exhibition exercise is to allow prospective voters to verify their details such as name, age, sex, among others, as captured during the limited registration exercise and make requests for amendments or insertions where necessary.

It will also help voters to know their polling stations on the day of voting.

The Deputy Chairperson of the EC in charge of Operations, Samuel Tettey, made these known at a press briefing on the exhibition of the voters register in Accra yesterday.

It was part of the “Let the citizens know” series meant to update the electorate on the processes that lead to securing a credible voters register for the 2024 general election.

He further explained that, “the purpose is to update you on the impending exhibition of the voters register.

As part of the Commission’s preparation towards the conduct of the District Level Elections (DLE) slated for Tuesday, December 19, 2023, it will display the provisional voters register at all the polling stations in the country”.

Exhibition centre

Mr Tettey said at the exhibition centre or polling station, the following requests could be made: inclusion of omitted names, objections to names of unqualified voters on the register, removal of names of deceased voters on the voters register, replacement of poor quality or damaged voter ID cards; correction of wrong spelling of names, correction of wrong registration centre codes, amendments to other registration details, for instance, age, sex, as a result of clerical errors.

He said requests could be made on request forms and on the voters register provided at the exhibition centers.

These forms, he explained, would be sent to the district offices at the end of the exhibition exercise to be processed.

Mr Tettey said district registration review officers, who are district court magistrates, had been appointed in all the 268 district offices of the EC to receive the provisional voters register and other forms containing complaints and objections that were raised by voters during the exhibition exercise.

He said, “they would make a determination on each of the cases and endorse each page of the register to authenticate it”. 

Advice

The deputy chairperson, therefore, advised voters to go to the exhibition centers with their voter ID cards to verify their details and facilitate the processes for verification of details.

He, however, observed that registered voters who failed to bring along their voter ID cards could also verify their details, stressing that, “It is also allowed for one to verify the voter details of a relation or friend but it must be noted that one cannot request for corrections in the absence of the owner of the voter ID card.

“To effect a complete change of the name of a voter or addition of new names, changing of polling station code, change of photographs and inclusion of omitted names, the voter is required to go to the district office of the EC for a biometric authentication of the voter before the change is effected,” Mr Tettey further said.

The Deputy EC Chairperson said at the exhibition centre the following list would also be displayed: the exception or multiple list.

He said the exception list contained the names of applicants whose registration as voters was challenged during the registration exercise and were subsequently disqualified by their district review committees.

“Persons whose details appear in the multiple list or exception list will not have their names and photographs on the voters register — that is the main list — and will, therefore, not be able to vote on election day,” Mr Tettey stressed.

On those areas affected as a result of the dam spillage, he said when necessary, the EC would find a special way of extending the exercise for them to check their details.