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On Sunday 12, July 2020, the Electoral Commission (EC) was exposed as its biometric registration machines failed to activate in several registration centres across the country, forcing the EC to extend registration time in these affected areas.
Whatsup News can report that several centres experienced delays in starting time as frustrated registrants stayed in the queues for hours as EC officials struggled to turn on registration machines.
Critics have described the situation as a major red flag exposing the shoddy preparation of the EC towards conducting the controversial new voters’ registration exercise after blowing a GHC 400 million budget on the exercise.
“We are seriously not ready for this exercise. The judgement is wrong and the reasons assigned no matter the justification is totally wrong and insensitive,” a security analyst, Richard Kumadoe told Whatsup News.
The confusion caused by faulty machines forced the EC to issue a quick statement claiming it had extended the registration exercise. “The Electoral Commission wishes to assure the general public that it will make up for the time lost at some Registration Centres where registration delayed on Sunday, 12th July 2020 due to activation/network problems,” Sylvia Annor, the Ag. Public Affairs Director of EC wrote in a statement released today (July 12, 2020).
“Some Registration Centres in the country experienced technical problems as result of bad network and therefore could not start on the stipulate 7.00 am spelt out by the Commission for the commencement of the Exercise,” the EC claimed.
This is the third phase of a registration exercise that has been fraught with controversies and suspicion of manipulations in favour of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP).