Politics of Thursday, 5 April 2012

Source: GNA

Give priority to elderly, people with disability to register - Hlodze

Mr Ludwig Akpene Hlodze, has tasked eligible voters undergoing the biometric voter registration exercise to give priority to the elderly, persons with disabilities and other essential service providers at registration centres.

Mr Hlodze who is the National Youth Organiser of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), said this will enable this category of persons to register with ease and return to the respective homes and posts.

A statement issued in Accra on Thursday said, Mr Hlodze made the call at Kpone Apostolic Church polling centre, when he led a team of Regional Youth Organisers and Constituency Organisers of the party on a day's working visit to parts of the Greater Accra Region to monitor the exercise.

The visits, which began at the start of the registration process, have so far taken him to four regions including parts of the Volta, Eastern, Ashanti and Greater Accra.

The visits to the registration centres are to afford him the opportunity to interact with political party agents at the centres and to take feedback as to how the exercise is progressing.

Mr Hlodze expressed concern over the use of school premises as registration centres at a time when school children were writing their mock BECE examinations.

“I think the electoral commission should have factored in the welfare of the school children before mapping out the registration centres and the heavy traffic at these centres is likely to distract the attention of the children; this can have negative effects on their concentration and output in the examinations. Their education is as important as the biometric voter registration exercise,” he stated.**