The voters register exhibition exercise by the Electoral Commission (EC) ended yesterday with low turnout in many polling stations in the Greater Accra Region and some regions our reporters visited.
In all the exhibition centres visited in Accra, the Ghanaian Times observed that there were no queues at the centres as compared to previous years.
It also noted that some people came without their voter's identification cards making it difficult for officials to verify their details easily as the register was not in alphabetical order.
Despite the extension of the exercise by the EC from September 17 to September 20, 2019 following reports of low patronage when it began, it appeared the people were unperturbed about the on-going exercise.
The exhibition exercise which was intended to clean the register ahead of the upcoming referendum on the participation of political parties in the district level election was also to afford the about 17 million registered voters to authenticate their details in the register.
The exercise was also a means to rid the register of unqualified people who got registered between 2012 and June this year among others.
In an interview with the EC official at the St Theresa's School centre A, B, C and D, who gave his name as only Andrews, he said out of the 3,000 expected to check their names less than 500 had verified their names as at 2:48 pm yesterday.
At the Azumah Nelson Sports Complex Exhibition centre A and B the Ghanaian Times noted that only seven prospective voters had had their details verified.
According to Ms Alberta Sackey, an EC official stationed there the low patronage was due to the reluctance of some people to leave their jobs and other pressing issues to check their details.
She noted that some people had to travel long distances to their various polling stations just to verify their details resulting in the reluctance.
Mr Alom Anyah, an EC official at the Internal Revenue Service revealed that since beginning last Tuesday only 80 people out of the 546 expectants had verified their details.
He attributed the low patronage to the loss of confidence in governments and the over confidence of some people who believed their names were already in the register.
From Bolgatanga, Samuel Akapule reports that there has been general apathy of people in the Upper East Region towards their participation in the exhibition of the Voters' register.
The exercise, which begun on September 10 and was expected to end on September 17 but was extended from September 17 to September 20, continued to receive low turnout in most of the centres the Ghanaian Times visited.
The nationwide exercise, which sort to give opportunity to registered voters to correct errors regarding their particulars, though started smoothly in most of the polling stations in the municipality; it was characterised by low turnout until the deadline yesterday.
When the Ghanaian Times visited the exhibition centre at the Bukari Primary only 766 people out of the 1,040 had verified their names.
At the Regional House of Chiefs exhibition centre where 636 were expected to verify their names only 96 people had verified.
Out of the 679 people who were expected to verify their details at the exhibition centre at the Junior Staff Quarters, only 100 people had checked.
Similar scenarios were recorded in almost all the exhibition centres the Ghanaian Times visited across the region.
The Exhibition Officer at the Bukere Primary exhibition centre, Ms Patience Yinbumongsor, told the GhanaianTimes that it was a normal practice where people would always wait till the last days to come and verify but said she was shocked with the low turnout at the closing day of the exercise.
Meanwhile when the Ghanaian Times interviewed majority of the people who did not turn out, they indicated that they had been deceived by many politicians and therefore see no need to participate in the exercise.
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