Voter registration: 'Foreigners, minors who attempt to register will be dealt with' - Western Regional Minister assures

Correspondence from Western Region

The Western Regional Minister, Mr. Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah has stressed that foreigners and minors who will attempt to register in the on-going nationwide registration exercise will be dealt with according to the laws of Ghana.

The exercise commenced on Tuesday, June 30 in some 6,788 clusters made up of five registration centres each across the country.

It is being conducted in 5 phases, each phase spanning 6 days with additional days for mop-up.

The nationwide exercise is expected to end on August 6, 2020.

The Electoral Commission of Ghana has projected to register 16 million qualified Ghanaians for the upcoming Presidential and Parliamentary General Elections slated for December 7, 2020.

Per the 1992 Constitution, Ghanaians below 18 years and foreigners are not allowed to register and vote in Ghana.

In an interview with GhanaWeb's Western Regional Correspondent, Mr. Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah who is the Chairman of Western Regional Security Council disclosed that security personnel have been deployed to monitor the exercise in all the seventeen Constituencies in the Region.

He, therefore emphasized that "It is the Civil Right of every Ghanaian to register and vote, the Western Regional Coordinating Council is, therefore, encouraging the good people of the Western Region to come out in their numbers and register but I want to stress that the security Agencies will monitor to deal with saboteurs".

He continued that, "Foreigners and Minors do not qualify to register, and that those who will attempt will be apprehended and dealt with according to the laws the Land".

Mr. Darko-Mensah who also doubles as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Takoradi Constituency urged the Electoral Commission in the region to report any security challenges to the police.

He also urged all applicants to observe social distancing and all other safety precautions to avoid contracting and spreading the deadly Coronavirus pandemic.