Accra: Most polling centres in the New Mamprobi electoral area in the Ablekuma South Constituency of the Greater Accra Region are experiencing low turnout in the ongoing voter exhibition exercise.
The exercise, which commenced today, Tuesday, August 20, 2024, and expected to end on August 27, is to, among other things, help voters locate their polling stations and to verify details of their registration.
However, patronage of the exercise in some polling stations visited by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in the Ablekuma South Constituency in the early hours of the exercise on the first day, has not been encouraging.
Many polling stations were without activities at the GNA’s visit, with just a handful of voters having gone to check their names.
For instance, at the Gertrude Memorial School Polling Station where 1,218 voters were expected to turn up, only six had turnout to check by some three hours into the exercise.
Also, at the Church of Pentecost (Taxi Rank) – Banana Inn Polling Station, where 1,013 peopl
e are expected to check, only three had done so as at 0930 hours.
The Lord’s Pentecostal Polling Station was no different with only one person out of 513 expected voters checking more than three hours (1020 hours) after the exercise began.
Seventeen out of some 2,852 voters, including 44 proxy voters, expected at The Church of Pentecost, IBE, had also checked during the time of GNA’s visit at 1040 hours.
The Former Tegritol Gift Shop Polling Station, Ayigbe Town, had also recorded two out of 1,077 voters expected.
Some EC officials were, however, optimistic that the turnout would improve as the exercise progressed.
Ms Bernice Boateng and Mr Jeffery Darfour, EC Officials stationed at The Church of Pentecost (Taxi Rank) – Banana Inn Polling Station, told the GNA in an interview that the exercise was likely to pickup during the weekend.
‘Most people are likely to be at home during the weekend and so we expect them to pass through during that time to check. Weekends are the best,’ they said.
Some officers,
however, called for more public awareness to improve the turn out in the coming days.
The GNA also observed that party agents were absent at all the polling stations it visited.
Security personnel were, however, seen at all centres visited.
Source: Ghana News Agency