Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Ghanaian Times
Published on 2024-03-11 06:26:57
The Electoral Commission (EC) has announced that voter registration for the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections will begin on May 7, 2024, and will run for 21 days until May 27, 2024. This information was disclosed in a communique issued after an Inter Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting held with political parties in Accra.
The registration exercise will take place at district offices of the Electoral Commission as well as in difficult-to-access electoral areas. Permanent registration centers will be established at district offices, while mobile registration teams will be deployed to register eligible applicants in hard-to-reach areas, as stated in the communique signed by Michael Boadu, Acting Head of Public Affairs at the Commission.
Following the registration process, from May 14, 2024, to June 4, 2024, the District Registration Review Committees will convene to address any registration challenges. From May 30, 2024, to June 14, 2024, applications and compilation of transfer of votes and proxy votes will be facilitated.
The Commission aims to provide political parties with the provisional voters register between July 8, 2024, and July 18, 2024, with an exhibition period scheduled from July 15, 2024, to July 24, 2024. The final voters register will be presented to political parties between August 30, 2024, and September 5, 2024.
The communique emphasized that there will be no new Constitutional Instruments introduced ahead of the registration exercise and the general election. The existing CIs will remain in effect, maintaining the date for the 2024 Presidential and Parliamentary elections on December 7. However, there are plans to submit a memo to the Attorney-General to commence legal processes to move the general elections to November. This proposed change in election date to November is expected to take place in 2028.
The Commission reiterated that indelible ink will continue to be used as an electoral stain for marking voters in the upcoming polls. This decision comes after concerns were raised during the 2023 District Level Elections when the Commission did not use indelible ink, citing the biometric register as sufficient to prevent multiple voting. However, political parties and election monitors argued that the credibility of the elections could be compromised due to the manual verification process for voters whose biometrics may not register on election day.
Furthermore, the filing fees for presidential and parliamentary candidates will remain at GH¢100,000 and GH¢10,000, respectively, as it was in the 2020 election.
In conclusion, the Electoral Commission’s announcement provides a detailed timeline and process for voter registration leading up to the 2024 Presidential and Parliamentary elections, ensuring transparency and compliance with electoral procedures.
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