Western Regional EC to create 200 new electoral areas
Mr Stephen Opoku-Mensah, the Western Regional Director of the Electoral Commission (EC), has 200 electoral areas would be created to help in effective political administration as well as local governance.He said the region already has 544 electoral areas and that the incoming electoral areas would also facilitate accelerated development.
Mr Opoku-Mensah told the Ghana News Agency in Sekondi, that it is very prudent to undertake the exercise bearing in mind the creation of new regions with the Western Region hoping to get “Western North” by the close of the year.
He called on traditional authorities, citizens and other stakeholders to cooperate with the EC in the pending exercise to determine the boundaries of electoral areas, the names and suitable centres of newly demarcated areas.
Mr Opoku-Mensah said government may carve out six more regions including that of Western North and that the new Region-Western North may have nine (9) districts which calls for proper planning and demarcation of electoral areas to ensure that they participated fully in the governance process in both local and national elections.
The new regions and electoral areas were expected to enhance development and bring its closer to the doorsteps of the people.
He said the limited biometric voter registration exercise would commence on Sunday, September 16 through to Thursday, September, 27 this year.
The limited registration exercise according to Mr Opoku-Mensah would enable the members of the public who previously did not register or voters who had misplaced their cards to register for new cards across all the districts in the country.
The EC Regional Director said an applicant would be required to pay a replacement fee of Five Ghana Cedis into the Commission’s Bank Account after which one would present the deposit slip to the district office of the Commission where they registered for spot printing and collection of the new ID cards.
“The Commission would like to use this opportunity to once again remind the general public that it is an offence to engage in multiple registration and that such persons will be dealt with in accordance with law, and their names taken off the Voters’ Register for a period of five (5) years”, the commission warned.
Mr Opoku-Mensah called for the cooperation and support of the public to make the limited registration exercise a success.
Source: GNA