NCCE intensifies public education on biometric voter registration

The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), on Monday called on stakeholders to support the biometric voters’ registration exercise, to make it a success.

Mr Harrison Kofi Belley, official at NCCE Communications and Corporate Affairs Department, gave the promise that, the Commission would continue to support other state organizations to discharge their roles in respect of the exercise, but said the NCCE was operating within budgetary allocations, which had no provision for the biometric registration.

He said these in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, in response to concerns raised by the public and the media on the alleged poor education by the Electoral Commission (EC) on the ongoing biometric voters’ registration.

Mr Belley said despite NCCE’s budgetary constraints, with support of the UNDP, it had trained about 170 of its staff on the registration exercise.

He said last week, the NCCE received education materials from the EC, which would be deployed this week across its 180 offices nationwide for mass education.

Mr Belley said, resources received from the EC, has strengthened the NCCE’s ability to support efforts made by the EC in public education towards the success of the exercise.

He said that NCCE had engaged religious leaders, media, community leaders and youth groups in the exercise and that “The exercise has 30 days to go. Let us be less hasty in judging the EC so early.”

Mr Belley called on political parties, media, religious leaders, opinion leaders, assembly members and government agencies to collectively educate the public on the biometric voters’ registration.

He said the NCCE would undertake civic education and help deepen Ghana’s democracy.

Mr Belly urged Ghanaians 18 years and above and of sound mind to register in the biometric voters’ registration.**