As the limited voter registration exercise unfolds in the Asokore Mampong Municipality, some determined applicants have been compelled to endure overnight stays at various registration centers due to persistent challenges.
Frustrated by days of unsuccessful attempts to complete their registration, these applicants have resorted to early arrivals, with some even braving the cold and heavy dawn rains.
In the pre-dawn hours, a peculiar scene unfolds in front of the Electoral Commission’s office in Asokore Mampong, where stones and chairs are meticulously arranged.
Each stone symbolizes an awaiting applicant, while benches represent groups of three or more individuals. Tensions rise as newcomers attempt to form additional queues, leading to confrontations with those who have diligently guarded their spots using stones and chairs.
Seida Alhassan, a women’s organizer for the NDC in the Asawase Constituency, finds herself embroiled in the midst of this conflict.
She claims, “I am a branch organizer for my political party, and I am here to facilitate the registration of our party members. This is why I arrived early to queue on their behalf. I could have stayed in the comfort of my home. I was present when you brought your children to queue, and I even provided seats for them. How can you now attempt to skip our established queue?”
The frustration is palpable among many who have spent hours in line since the commencement of the registration exercise. S
ome applicants have queued for a staggering two days without success, leading to pleas for measures to alleviate their mounting frustration.
Mustapha Mohammed, one such frustrated applicant, recounts, “We have been arguing since our arrival at 4 a.m. I finally got a chance to register around 11 a.m. People are queuing with stones and benches, and I feel compelled to find a way to bypass the queue.”
Disturbingly, available figures from Joy News reveal that the Electoral Commission is struggling to meet its daily target of registering three hundred applicants.
On the first day, only about 80 applicants were successfully registered. The second and third days fared only slightly better, with fewer than 300 applicants managing to complete the registration process.
As the number of applicants continues to swell, efforts by interest groups to persuade the Electoral Commission to increase registration centers have thus far yielded no results.