EC detects inconsistencies in list of special voters

The Electoral Commission (EC) has said it has detected inconsistencies in the list of special voters and that could disenfranchise some.

The Central Regional Director of the Electoral Commission, Mrs Philomena Adusei, said the list of voters given to the EC in the region for instance had on it names of people who were to vote in other regions.She was speaking at the Central Regional Coordinating Council meeting in Cape Coast last Thursday.Mrs Adusei said her office for instance detected that there were many voters, particularly of the security agencies, whose names were given as voters in the Central Region but who by their voter identity information were not in the region.She explained that the error might have occurred because the security agencies might not have indicated where the voter would vote.Implications“If you don’t find your name in the region where you are, on the day of special voting, you can’t vote and you cannot also vote in the main election because your name will not be on the register,” she pointed out.She said the EC had contacted some of the affected voters to rectify the situation but “some could not be reached.”Mrs Adusei called on the heads of the security agencies to collaborate with the EC in Accra to resolve all such discrepancies before the special voting day, saying they had two weeks to do these corrections.Ballot being printedShe said the EC was 80 per cent ready to conduct the election, saying after all the corrections had been made, the EC had begun printing the ballot papers.Mrs Edusei said the Central Region had 2,482 polling stations and added that she was optimistic that voting would be peaceful.She said the EC had already given the list of all flashpoints to the police and the military.Avoid violenceThe Central Regional Minister, Mr Kweku Ricketts Hagan, called on all to help ensure a peaceful general election.On education, he, said the government had constructed 14 new senior high schools (shss) to increase access to quality education.He said the Kotokuraba Market project was almost completed, saying but for considerations to add an abattoir to the facility, it would have been inaugurated for use.