As part of the Electoral Commission’s preparation towards the conduct of the District Level Elections, slated for Tuesday, 19th December, 2023, the Commission is set to display/exhibit the Provisional Voters Register at all the 38,622 polling stations across the country.
You will recall that the Commission undertook a nationwide registration of voters in 2020 prior to the 2020 general Elections and the just ended nationwide registration of voters at all the 268 District Offices of the Commission.
Pursuant to Sub-Regulation (1) of regulation 22 and Regulation 23 of the Public Elections (Registration of Voters) Regulations, 2016 C.I. 91 as Amended, the Commission is mandated to compile a provisional register of voters for each polling station and subsequently exhibit the Voters Register.
The Commission is, therefore, set to exhibit the Provisional Voters Register simultaneously at all polling stations which will serve as Exhibition Centres throughout the country from Friday, 3rd November, 2023 to Tuesday, 7th November, 2023.
The exhibition exercise will start at 7:00am and end at 6:00pm throughout the period of the exercise.
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Speaking at a press conference in Accra on Wednesday, November 1,2023, the Deputy Chairman in Charge of Operations at the EC, Dr Samuel Tettey said the purpose of the exhibition exercise is to allow prospective voters to verify their details i.e. name, age, sex etc. as captured during the registration exercise and make requests for amendments or insertions where necessary.
He said it will also help voters to know their polling stations on the day of voting.
At the Exhibition Centre, he mentioned that some of the requests expected to be made are inclusion of omitted names, objection to names of unqualified voters on the register, removal of names of deceased voters from the register, replacement of poor quality or damaged voter ID Cards, correction to wrong spelling of names, correction to wrong registration centre codes, Amendment to other registration details (e.g. age, sex etc.) as a result of clerical error.
He noted that requests made at the Exhibition Centres will be recorded on exhibition forms and on the voters register provided at the exhibition centres, adding that these forms will also be sent to the District Office at the end of the exhibition exercise to be processed.
According to Mr Tettey, District Registration Review Officers who are District Court Magistrates have been appointed in all the 268 Districts to receive the Provisional Voters Registers and other lists and forms containing complaints and objections that were raised by voters during the Exhibition exercise from the District Officer and make a determination on each of the cases and endorse each page of the register to authenticate it.
“Voters are advised to go to the exhibition centres with their Voter Identity Cards to verify their details. This facilitates the process for verification of details.
However, registered voters who fail to bring along their Voter ID Cards could also verify their details,” he said.
He said it is also allowed for one to verify the voter details of a relation(s) or friend(s), adding that one cannot request for corrections in the absence of the owner of the Voter ID Card.
He said both the 2023 Provisional Voters Register and the 2020 Voters Register will be displayed at the Exhibition Centres.
“The Commission is urging all applicants, especially those who registered in the just ended registration exercise at the District Offices of the Commission to visit the Exhibition Centres to ascertain whether they were assigned to their correct polling stations or not. They are not to go to the District Offices to verify their details,” he advised.
Mr Tettey said anyone who was not qualified to register as a voter can also go to the Centre to have his/her name removed from the register, adding that,”It is a crime to have your name on the register if you are not qualified.”
For registered voters who are unable to visit the Exhibition Centres to verify their details, he said they may dial the short code 71381# to verify their details.
“The voter’s details will pop up to enable them to check their details at a fee of 50 pesewas. This facility will still be in use during the Exhibition exercise and after,” he added.
Mr Tettey urged all registered voters to visit the Exhibition Centres to verify their data, make corrections and inclusions if necessary and most importantly object to names of minors, and foreigners who might have got onto our Voters Register through the guarantor system and also deceased persons.
“We wish to state that the Exhibition exercise is part of the processes leading to the provision of the final Voters Register.It is therefore important for all registered voters and those who even registered in 2020 and voted not to think that their names are already in the register and for that matter may not go to the centres to check their details. Even if your name was in the Voters Register and you voted in 2020, you are still required to visit the Exhibition Centre to check and ensure that your name is in the register,” he added.
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