Jean Menssa, Chairperson of the Electoral Commission
The Electoral Commission (EC) has said that, for the first time in Ghana’s history, it will make available nomination forms for both presidential and parliamentary candidates for the 2020 on its website.
This decision is part of processes to follow safety protocols and lightening the burden that candidates have to go through to satisfy the filing processes.
However, according to the EC, it is yet to announce the date for the receipt of nominations for presidential and parliamentary candidates for the December polls.
Digitisation
Addressing journalists yesterday at its ‘Let the Citizen Know’ initiative, the Chairperson of the Commission, Mrs Jean Mensa, said that the guidelines for nominations would also be made available on the EC’s website.
“Candidates no longer have to come to the Commission to pick up their nomination forms before filling. They can simply visit our website and download the various forms. The Commission believes that this initiative will simplify the arduous filing process,” she said.
Gender Dynamics
Touching on the ongoing voters’ registration exercise, in terms of the gender equation, Mrs Jean Mensa indicated the EC has seen more women registering than men.
According to her, provisional data on the gender of applicants reveals that 6,100,440 women have registered as against 5,528,970 men.
“Women make up 52.5 per cent of registered citizens so far, compared to men who make up 47.5 per cent,” the EC Chair noted.
Mrs Jean Mensa also noted that there has been high enthusiasm among first-time voters, ie those within the ages of 18 and 20.
She revealed that at the end of fourth phase of the exercise, 480,851 18-year-olds had registered as potential voters. This figure represents 4.1 per cent of the register while 419,530 19-year-olds had also registered. In a nutshell, the 18 and 19-year-olds make up just 7.7 per cent of the register.
In addition, the EC Chair said she is impressed by the high turnout of persons with disabilities, adding that the entire ongoing registration process has been inclusive.
“At the end of the fourth phase, 46,237 persons with disabilities had successfully gone through the registration process – this represents 0.40 per cent of the total number registered. These figures are very encouraging, and this is an indication of the unwavering interest that citizens have in who manages the reins of leadership (of our dear country),” she said.
She, however, expressed dissatisfaction with reports that the few persons with disabilities who visited the registration centres to register were not always given priority, as emphasised at the EC’s training programmes and ensuing directives.
Provisional data
Giving a breakdown of the number of persons who have registered so far, Mrs Jean Mensa disclosed that, as at last Sunday, the total number of registered voters stood at 12,371,651.
“At the end of the fourth phase the Greater Accra Region had the highest number of registrants, totaling 2,615,925. The Ashanti Region came second with a total of 2,089,923 and the Eastern Region came third with a total of 1,084,734,” she disclosed.
“After this, we had the Central Region with 1,074,519 people; the Western Region with 734,545 people; the Northern Region with 687,123; the Volta Region with 660,508 people; the Bono Region with 460,226; the Upper East Region 409,825; the Bono East Region with 391,777; and the Western North Region had 300,015 people,” Mrs Jean Mensa added.
She further stated that the Upper West Region had 299,480 applicants; the Oti Region 226,109; and the Ahafo Region 212,670.
She added that the Savannah Region had 195,126, while the North East Region had 186,975,” the EC Chair continued.
Mrs Jean Mensa noted that the figure represents 82.5 per cent of the Commission’s expected target of 15 million.
