SHORTAGE OF MATERIALS HINDERS REGISTRATION (PAGE 16)

SHORTAGE of materials, especially registration forms, is hindering the ongoing voter registration in the New Juaben Municipality in the Eastern Region.
As a result, a number of prospective voters had to be turned away, particularly on Wednesday, August 6.
Polling stations seriously affected were the Adonteng, Anglican, Asuofriso, School Town and the Ohemaa registration boots, all in the New Juaben South Constituency.
Also affected were the Aburow Dua Polling Station at Oyoko and the Yane and Ahembrom polling stations at Jumapo, both in the New Juaben North Constituency.
As of 4 p.m. yesterday, August 7 when the Daily Graphic visited such registration centres, there were no registration forms and many people who had gone there to register had to go back disappointed.
At the Anglican Polling Station, the Registration Officer, Mr Bernard Ayikah Gastorn, said he had to turn away a number of people who reported to register because there were no registration forms to cater for them.
Apart from that he stated that printing materials for the pictures of those registering had all been used, a situation he described as worrying, since there was the possibility that some of those who were turned away would not come back if the materials should be available at a later date.
He, however, indicated that there had not been any disturbances at the polling station he presided over, which, together with other polling stations, namely Adonteng Anglican Asuofriso, School Town, and Ohemaa Park, had registered 510 people since the exercise began six days ago.
At the Legion Hall Polling Station, also in the New Juaben South Constituency, the Registration Officer, Mr Emmanuel Marfo, said although the exercise went on smoothly, periodic shortage of registration forms, particularly on the sixth day, had made it impossible to register a number of people who reported there.
The situation was no different at the SDA Chapel Polling Station in the Aburow Dua Electoral Area of the New Juaben North Constituency where the registration staff had to close hours before the stipulated time of 6 p.m. on Wednesday for lack of registration forms.
According to the officer-in-charge, Mr Fred Nadutey, the registration centre, which had been experiencing periodic shortage of registration forms, was only provided with 10 forms on Wednesday, which was not enough, and explained that if it had not been that problem, his outfit would have registered more than the 295 people it had registered since the exercise began.
When contacted on phone, the Municipal Electoral Officer, Miss Lydia Agyiri, denied that there was shortage of registration forms, and that they were available at some polling stations.
However, another official of the Electoral Commission who declined to be named attributed the shortage to the unexpected large number of people who turned out at the registration centres.
He explained that people who registered but could not have their pictures taken during the previous exercise also reported to be registered, so additional provisions had to be made.
In doing so, he explained, the EC had to handle the issue with care to avoid double registration, which would result in the bloating of the voters register.
One worrying aspect of the exercise was that of all the political parties which would take part in the December 7 polls, only representatives of the New Patriotic Party and the National Democratic Congress were monitoring the exercise in all the registration centres visited.