THE ONGOING biometric voters� registration exercise in the Western Region is progressing smoothly, according to Western Regional Director of the Electoral Commission, Stephen Opoku Mensah.
In a brief interview with DAILY GUIDE yesterday, he said various reports from the 18 electoral officers in the region indicated that everything was moving smoothly except for a few complaints that some webcams did not function properly. The cameras he said were quickly repaired by the technicians at the centres.
�As we progress, things get better because March 24 was the first time we started the process and also the first time adopting this new system but we are glad everything is working well,� he added.
He advised all Ghanaians of voting age to take advantage of the exercise and get registered to have the power to cast their votes on election day.
Opoku Mensah called on people in queues at the registration centres to exercise patience and not go back home with the view that there are more days ahead for the exercise.
�The EC does not want to disenfranchise anybody who qualifies to vote but it will not be advisable for people to wait and rush to register on the last day of the exercise,� he said.
According to Ofori Dompreh, head of the registration at STMA Dankesimu Centre in Sekondi, everything went well on the first day but a minor fault on the computer put things on hold for about 45 minutes. The machine was later fixed by the technician.
By 3:45pm, the centre had registered 47 people, but only the New Patriotic Party and National Democratic Congress had their representatives there as observers.
At the Presbyterian Primary School Registration Centre in Sekondi, there was no queue during the paper�s visit so applicants trickled in to register in an orderly manner.
Kojo Arthur, Registration Officer (Special Duties) said 59 applicants had been duly registered as at 4:35pm on the first day adding �everything is peaceful here and applicants are comporting themselves.�
He complained that the work kits froze for some time and the scanner malfunctioned so registration was delayed for almost 35 minutes until the technical at post put the system in order.
Some applicants who had registered and collected their voter ID cards told the paper the scanners were slow to capture their fingerprints and called on the EC to ensure the entire system worked faster and more effectively before the end of the exercise.
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