Day five of the biometric voter registration exercise and most of the dailies have chronicled various violent incidences characterizing the exercise across the country. The Ghanaian Times reports that about 10 injured in clash during registration as residents of Arigu and Guborigo in the Upper East Region attacking each other with guns, cutlass, cudgels and stones over issue over the location of a registration centre
The Daily Guide similarly covers a story on NPP, NDC clash triggering thhe Ashanti Regional Police command sending more armed police personnel to Adansi Akrofuom to maintain peace and order and guard the biometric registration exercise in the area after a clash between the supporters of National Democratic Congress (NDC) and New Patriotic Party(NPP). The incident, which happened around 8:30pm on Monday, left one person with cutlass wounds and some residents fleeing the community.
The Daily Guide also reports that Bloodbath Mars Techiman Registration. The Biometric registration at Taakofiano polling station in the Techiman Municipality in the Brong Ahafo Region turned bloody when a group of National Democratic Congress (NDC) macho men , armed with machetes and guns , stormed the center and started slashing people who had queued to register. At about 2pm on that fateful day the macho men numbering twenty led by one Kwadwo Cocaine and the NDC Youth Organizer, Ibrahim rushed to the center in seven cars loaded with thugs and started threatening those in the queue.
Still on violence and in the Ashanti Region, following persistent violation of the electoral rules by a section of the youth at the Asafo Zion School registration centre at the Subin constituency in Kumasi, which has been creating insecurity, the Registration Officer, Mr. Addae Frimpong , has threatened to suspend the exercise. He told the Daily Graphic that unless the military intervened to create the needed peaceful atmosphere at the centre, the lives of the registration officials and eligible candidates would be at stake as there is Infraction at Asafo Zion school registration centre.
As opposed to the violent situation in the Ashanti Region, the Daily guide reports of Smooth Registration Exercise in the Western Region. The paper explains that 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 18 electoral officers in the region indicated 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 centers.
We proceed with challenges on the biometric registration as Woman's thumb won't print. A 50 – year old trader in Sunyani, Madam Augustina Amponsah Manu, encountered problems at a biometric registration centre as her finger-prints could not be taken by the machine, despite numerous attempts. Her hands were washed and rinsed in foamy detergents, but her finger-prints could not be taken, prompting some people in the queue to suggest she takes a glass of local gin(Akpeteshie) to "re-ignite her cells" to make it possible for her fingers to become detectable, the Ghanaian Times reports.
Information reaching Daily Guide indicates that drama unfolded at Techimatia GPRTU main lorry station when a young man believed to be in his twenties took to his heels on Saturday when questioned about authenticity of the voter's ID card he brought to the polling station as evidence to register. Apparently the ID number F301605, was supposed to be coming from the Ashanti Region but it was fairly new, indicating that it was one of the new ones that was alleged to be coming from the Brong Ahafo regional minister's outreach, the paper reports under the headline Fake Cards hit Biometric Centres.
One other irregularity reported by the Daily Guide is the issue of a Togolese Registering in the Volta Region. Reports indicate that Togolese Nationals with assistance from some Ghanaians believed to be NDC activists are clandestinely taking part in the ongoing biometric exercise in the Volta region. According to the paper's investigation, Togolese are being assisted by NDC activists and some registration officials to take part in the ongoing exercise along some borders towns within the Ho municipality namely Atikpui, Shia and Klave.
Following the aberrations characterized by the biometric registration exercise, the PNC accuses EC of purchasing inferior kits. The Daily Graphic adds that the People's National Convention (PNC) has accused the Electoral commission (EC) of Ghana of purchasing inferior kits for the biometric registration exercise. That, it said, accounted for the numerous reports from all over the country about the breakdown and freezing of some of the machines used for the registration exercise.
As we draw down the curtains on the day's review, news reaching AEP reveals that Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia returns to the country to fight for the NPP vice presidential slot. According to the Daily Graphic, the New Patriotic Party's National Council is billed to hold a meeting with Nana Akufo-Addo at the University of Ghana where the final decision of who partners Akufo-Addo for the December Presidential election will be settled.
This daily news review is compiled by African Elections Project (AEP) Media Monitoring Centre, Accra, Ghana.
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