Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has issued a warning to the Electoral Commission (EC) regarding its voter registration process, expressing concerns that it could jeopardize the nation's progress in upholding democracy.

Mr Ablakwa criticized the EC's choice to limit the registration to its district offices, deeming it undemocratic and potentially leading to the exclusion of numerous eligible voters.

He noted that disenfranchising voters is what has led to the tumbling of many democratic governments in Africa, hence such an approach may not augur well for the country.

“All of us don’t want coups to happen in our jurisdictions,” Ablakwa said. “But you see when public officials refuse to learn, it results in coups. The Gabon coup is an example and has ended in the disruption of their democracy. And we don’t want that in Ghana.”

“Look at the anger and outrage that the youth feel about these policies of Jean Mensa, Very autocratic, very undemocratic, no consultation whatsoever. And she is going ahead.”

In light of this, Mr Ablakwa has urged the Electoral Commission to engage in consultations with all relevant stakeholders regarding the ongoing voter registration process. Additionally, he encouraged the youth to actively register to vote and emphasized their role in holding the EC accountable should any registration issues arise.

The Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) has instructed its officials to resort to offline voter registration if they encounter challenges with the online registration system during the ongoing Limited Voter Registration exercise.

This directive comes in response to reports of network connectivity issues associated with the online registration system, which caused delays in the registration process at certain centers on Tuesday morning.

The EC had previously clarified that the online registration system was designed to promptly identify instances of double registration at the registration point.

Dr Serebour Quaicoe, Director of Electoral Services at the EC, told the media Tuesday evening that there were “initial hitches” with the system on the first day.

He said the situation would normalise as the exercise progressed.

“We have asked them (officers) to switch offline if they encounter challenges.

“All those registered offline, the system will review their identities and if their names appear on the multiple list they will not vote,” Dr Quaicoe said.

Dr. Quaicoe reported that the registration process proceeded relatively smoothly, with the exception of rain-related disruptions in many regions of the country.

The registration, as mandated by Article 45 of the 1992 Constitution, is currently taking place at the Commission’s 268 District Offices.

Although the registration was initially scheduled to begin at 0800 hours, there were delays in connecting to the EC’s online registration system at some of the centers monitored according to reports.As a result, the registration process commenced as late as in certain centers.

The Electoral Commission (EC) has began its Limited Voters Registration Exercise to enable eligible Ghanaians who are 18 years and above to register for a Voters ID card.

The exercise commenced on Tuesday, 12th September and its expected to end on 2nd October, 2023.

Eligible citizens are to carry along their Ghana Card or Ghana Passport as identification for registration purposes.

This exercise will be carried out across all 268 District Offices of the Electoral Commission.