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NDC urges removal
of some polling centers to residential areas in Accra
Accra, Jan 14, Ghanadot/GNA -
The Odododiodoo Constituency Executives of the National
Democratic Congress (NDC) has petitioned the National
Electoral Commission to remove some registration and polling
centres in the area.
In the petition signed by the Constituency Chairman, Mr.
Daniel Nii Okai Okai, the NDC indicated that the continuous
presence of 18 centres in the Central Business District of
Accra was against the guidelines for the placement of
polling and registration stations.
It stated that as the name implied the Central Business
District was not a residential area but purely a business
and commercial centre made up of offices, shops and markets.
“Since elections has to do with residence that is captured
in the registration forms and had nothing to do with
business, the existence of these polling stations is
untenable and has to be removed,” the party said.
Mr. Nii Okai Okai recalled an earlier petition on the same
issue on 9th March 2004 and urged the Electoral Commission
to revisit the concerns raised and to delete the 18 centres
from the list of polling and registration centres.
The petition copied to the MP for the area, Mr. Jonathan Nii
Tackie Komme, noted that even though the earlier one did not
receive “any favourable response”, the registration exercise
at that time created a host of problems including violence
because of challenges.
It further recalled that the District Registration Committee
recommended the cancellation of the registration of over 400
people whose registration, were challenged.
This supported the stance of the NDC executives that the 18
centres
should be removed because people who registered in the
Central Business
District could not be traced.
The petition recollected what it called "the embarrassing
situation when the Head Office of the Commission had to
register people from these areas when they stormed the
Commission even though the Head Office was not the place for
registration”.
Mr Nii Okai Okai stated that at the office of the Electoral
Commission, it was established that the Director of Election
authorized the registration at the Head Office first
claiming that the Commissioner gave the order and then
changed this claim, stating that, it was the District
Registration Review Committee that gave the order when that
was not the case.
He pointed out that it was the decision of the party to
co-operate with the Commission to resolve the matter that
saved a “nasty and embarrassing situation” and the people
were registered and transferred to their places of residence
en-mass without anybody loosing the right to vote.
The NDC Odododiodoo Chairman stated that the executives did
not stop there but compiled a list of people who had been
registered but were not eligible to be registered in the
constituency and forwarded the findings to the District and
Regional offices of the Commission during the voter register
exhibition period, which did not also yield any positive
result.
The NDC appealed to the Commission to take action on the
petition to avoid the unpleasant situation that developed in
2004 during the registration exercise to improve the
electoral process and said it was prepared to lend its
co-operation to resolve the concerns before the 2008 review
of the voters register.
Reasons stated for the removal of the registration and
polling centrEs in the 2004 petition included the fact that
the constituency had 10 markets in the area for which reason
people from all walks of life flooded the vicinity daily to
transact business and that those without fixed addresses in
the area far outnumbered residents.
It identified the centres to be removed to include the AMA
Head Office Registration and polling centre, Independence
Avenue JSS, Water and Sewerage Yard No one and two, State
Insurance Company number one and two, Fire Service Yard
numbers one and two, Ayalolo 6 and 8 Primary school one, two
and three, Railway Yard numbers one A and B and Number two
registration and polling centres.
The petition noted among other issues that because people
who registered in these centres were of no fixed addresses
it contravened the provision that one should either be
resident or ordinarily resident in an electoral area.
It noted that these same people went to their proper places
of residence to register again using their proper
identification and particulars.
The fact that people from other localities were in the
constituency most of the working week did not mean that they
could vote in the area, the petition indicated and pointed
out that people should give truthful and accurate
information about their residence.
GNA
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