Eligible voters taking part in the ongoing voters’ registration exercise have been advised by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to religiously adhere to the Covid-19 safety protocols.
The President gave this admonition yesterday when he paid unannounced visits to some five registration centres in the Greater Accra Region.
The tour took him to the Kanda Cluster of Schools Registration Centre in Ayawaso East; Abossey Okai Presby Registration Centre in Ablekuma Central; Ebenezer Funeral Parlour (1&2) registration centres in Weija-Gbawe; Teshie Aboma Presby Church Registration Centre in Ledzokuku; and Super Service Registration Centre in Klottey Korle.
Accompanied by the Director of Operations at the Presidency, Lord Commey, and the Director of Communications, Eugene Arhin, President Akufo-Addo interacted with the registration officials at all the five centres. The officials also walked the President through the processes of registering an eligible voter.
Protocols
The President was told that, upon entering a registration centre, all persons are required to wear nose masks, after which their temperatures are taken by nurses stationed at each centre. Indeed, the Ghana Health Service has released some 7,000 community health nurses to the various registration centres.
Eligible persons are then required to wash their hands with soap under running water, before being allowed to join the queue.
At each of the centres, there was strict adherence to social distancing, with eligible voters maintaining the required one metre gap.
President Akufo-Addo was told that majority of persons who had turned up to be registered were in possession of the Ghana Card and passports. A small number of persons without any of these valid ID cards submitted one completed Identification Guarantee Form, endorsed by two registered voters, to be registered and issued with a voter ID card.
The registration officials further explained to the President that prospective registrants, after going through the process, are given a hand sanitizer for mandatory sanitizing of hands before leaving the centre.
Adherence is key
Visibly encouraged by the processes, the President urged the registration officials to continue to adhere to the safety protocols outlined to ensure the safety of all persons who visit the registration centres.
Interacting with some of the persons waiting in the queues to be registered, the President urged them not to ignore the COVID-19 safety protocols whilst going through the process to be registered.
It will be recalled that during his recent broadcast to the nation, ahead of the commencement of the registration exercise, President Akufo-Addo reminded Ghanaians that if an eligible citizen’s name is not on the register, that citizen cannot exercise the right to vote, and cannot, therefore, participate in the determination of the choice of the government of the day.
“It is, thus, vitally important that all eligible voters register, so, on the designated day of 7th December, they can vote to choose the President of the nation, and the Member of Parliament of their area. In effect, our vote, our thumb, is the expression of our individual sovereign power as a citizen, which we should cherish and guard at all times,” he said
