Independent presidential candidate and leader of political movement, the New Force, Nana Kwame Bediako has petitioned the Electoral Commission to expand access and extend the limited voter registration exercise.
Bediako at a press conference said the voter exercise which ends on May 27, gives little time for all eligible voters to register in hopes of participating in the elections later in December.
In an earlier petition he submitted to the EC on May 17, he argues also that the exercise is faced with limitations such as the reduction in registration centres from 33,000 in the last elections to 1068 centres.
“27th of May, this practice is going to end, making it exactly 20 days for 33 million people. As a nation certainly not enough. Look at other countries like Europe or America, they have a whole year that they open their system for the nation to be able to register their voting rights. But when you come to Africa it’s the opposite,” he said, describing it as “restrictive measures.”
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Nana Kwame Bediako, leader of the New Force petitions the Electoral Commission to extend the duration of the ongoing voter registration exercise, says 20 days is not enough… #GHOneNews #GHOneTV #Election2024 #ElectionHub pic.twitter.com/jEomM7HTjw
— GHOne TV (@ghonetv) May 20, 2024
However, the EC has said it would extend the exercise should there be a backlog of eligible voters.
“The Commission assures its stakeholders that, should there be a backlog of voters at the end of the 21-day process, the Registration Exercise will be extended beyond the 27th of May 2024 deadline,” Acting Director of Public Relations Michael Boadu, said in the early days of the exercise when challenges arose.
