Mr Edem Kofi Kpotosu, Ho Central Parliamentary Aspirant for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has called for rigorous voter registration education to encourage eligible citizens to register. 

He stated that the low turnout at some registration centres could be attributed to a lack of education, emphasising the need to increase educational efforts to pique the interest of new applicants in participating in the exercise. 

Mr Kpotosu said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency while visiting the Ho Municipal Electoral Commission’s office to observe the registration exercise. 

The aspirant asked the government to adequately resource the National Commission for Civic Education so that it could effectively carry out its mandate of educating the public. 

He urged everyone of voting age to visit the registration centres and get their names added to the electoral roll, saying that voting in national elections is a civic duty for all eligible citizens.  

Mr Kpotosu was happy with the peaceful atmosphere that characterised the exercise thus far, and he hoped that the tranquil environment would be preserved to the very end. 

Nana Oduro Numapau, Ho Municipal Director of the Electoral Commission, informed GNA that there was a high level of stakeholder participation in the exercise and commended party agents for their cooperation. 

He said 17 applicants were challenged because they were either foreign nationals or minors. 

Mr Kwasi Ameyaw-Cheremeh, the Member of Parliament for Sunyani East has inspected the progress of the Electoral Commission (EC) limited voter’s registration exercise in the constituency and called on political parties to support the commission to compile a credible register. 
 
That would facilitate and guarantee credibility in the Election 2024 and to the satisfaction of all election stakeholders. 
 
Mr Ameyaw-Cheremeh, also the Board Chairman of the Bui Power Authority, the managers of the Bui Generating Station said the various political parties could do this, if they avoided tendencies that could mar the registration process. 
 
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Sunyani, the outspoken MP and a legal luminary said the EC needed a peaceful atmosphere, devoid of unnecessary interferences and intimidations to undertake the registration exercise. 
 
He said with an atmosphere of peace and tranquility, the nation’s electoral management body would be able to compile a more reliable register for the nation to sail through a peaceful election on December 7 and consolidate the gains of Ghana’s fledgling democracy. 
 
The MP said he was satisfied with the registration process in the constituency so far and the way and manner the political parties had conducted themselves, and expressed the optimism that the registration exercise would be peaceful and successful in the constituency. 
 
Meanwhile, the scene at premises of the Sunyani Municipal Office of the EC was worthy of emulation, when Mr Ameyaw-Cheremeh met with Mr Seid Mubarak, the National Democratic Congress Election 2024 parliamentary candidate at the registration center. 
 
It was an interesting and humorous scene, when the two political opponents and their followers who had arrived at the center exhibited a high sense of political maturity and civility. 
 
They exchanged pleasantries, embraced and teased each other, and cracked jokes to the amazement of the unsuspecting applicants and potential voters. 
 
Some of the applicants who were in queue, however, told the GNA they were indeed surprised about the cordiality that existed between the two parliamentary candidates and their followers.

The Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), the Government of Japan, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), have partnered to ensure the effective implementation of the Accra Initiative (AI) in West Africa and the Sahel.

This is under a one-year project, being undertaken by the KAIPTC, titled, “Support to strengthen capacities for promoting efficiency in the implementation of the Accra Initiative (AI) in West Africa and the Sahel.”

The initiative comes as the Sahel region faces a worsening security situation, marked by a rise in terrorism, civilian casualties, and displacement.

The 2023 Global Terrorism Index identifies the Sahel as the epicenter of global terrorism, with nearly half of all terror-related deaths originating there.

Up to 47 per cent of global deaths from terrorism have occurred in the Sahel region.

Launched in 2017 by Ghana during its Chairmanship of ECOWAS, the Accra Initiative aims to prevent the spillover of terrorism from the Sahel into coastal West African nations.

Through intelligence-sharing and coordinated border security, the initiative seeks to address transnational organized crime and violent extremism.

The Project, therefore, aims to contribute to strengthening the capacity and collaboration on the Accra Initiative among its member states and with civil society to be able to tackle peace and security threats, including violent extremism in the region, while promoting community resilience.

The KAIPTC-led project will run on three interlinked project components research, dialogue, and capacity development.

To address the evolving security threats faced by countries south of Mali, including the members of the Accra Initiative, this project aims to strengthen the skills and knowledge of state and non-state actors involved in the initiative.

It also seeks to build community resilience to reduce threats to peace and security while encouraging wider civilian and community involvement by building trust to create safer and more secure communities.

Mr Albert Kan-Dapaah, Minister of National Security, speaking at the launch of the Project, said the terrorist situation in West Africa continued to threaten its peace, and that some drastic measures were needed to nip the threats posed by terrorism in the bud to safeguard sub-regional peace.

The worrying phenomenon, he said, made the West African sub-region a hub of terrorist groups as such attacks were drifting towards coastal West Africa.

The National Security Minister said terrorism had become a major issue confronting the 21st century in the sub-region, which had led to huge investments in security to deal with the threats.

Mr Hisanobu Mochizuki, Ambassador of Japan to Ghana, said Japan recognized the urgency of the situation in the Sahel.

In response to this deteriorating situation, he said the Prime Minister of Japan Fumio Kishida announced last year during a visit to Ghana that Japan would provide approximately USD 500 million over the next three years to contribute to peace and stability as well as promote sustainable growth in the Sahel region and neighbouring Gulf of Guinea coastal countries.

“I am delighted that this project represents our long-lasting firm partnership with the UNDP and the KAIPTC, building upon our vital collaboration in the past to enhance security in West Africa,” Amb. Mochizuk, said.

Dr Angela Lusigi, UNDP Ghana Resident Representative, said the escalating violence in the Sahel had resulted in devastating consequences, including loss of civilian lives, displacement, and humanitarian crises of alarming proportions.

She said it was imperative to recognise that the threat of violent extremism knew no national boundaries.

The UNDP Representative commended the concerted action taken by ECOWAS in setting up the Accra Initiative as it represented a crucial step towards enhancing security and stability in the region by preventing the spillover of terrorism and combating transnational organized crime and violent extremism.

The Accra Initiative, she said, faced significant challenges, and that “we need to address gaps in information regarding its structure, decision-making processes, and civilian involvement.”

Dr Lusigi said, “The ambition is high and the scale of the task at hand demands additional financial resources and robust support for all member states: Ghana, Benin, Togo, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Nigeria.”

Mrs Patience Agyare-Kwabi, Director of Women, Youth Peace & Security Institute, KAIPTC, said the proliferation of transnational organized criminal groups, recurrent coups, and the increasing expansion of violent extremist groups across contiguous borders in West Africa and the Sahel presented an imminent threat to peace and security in the region.

The casualties caused by violent extremists in the Sahel, she said, had increased fourfold since 2016 with youth and women being among the most affected by the situation.

Our experience with the recently ended project on violent extremism and small arms control indicates that not many people are aware of the activities of the Accra Initiative, though they were certainly excited to learn about it,” she said.

The WYPSI Director noted that it was within that framework that the current project aimed to strengthen the capacities of seven signatory states — Ghana, Benin, Togo, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger — alongside Nigeria as an observer state.

The Electoral Commission, as of close of business on Sunday, May 12, 2024, had registered a total of 251,149 new voters, representing a daily average of 45,000.

Out of the total figure, a total of 135, 898 (54.11 per cent) of the registered voters are females, and 115,251 (45.89 per cent) are males – indicating that more females are registering than males.

Addressing a press conference in Accra on Monday, Dr Bossman Eric Asare, Deputy Chairman of the EC in charge of Corporate Services, said the Commission had also registered 400 persons with disabilities across the country.

The Greater Accra region has registered 33,899 voters (13.5 per cent); North East, 6,928 (2.8 per cent); Upper East, 10,646 (4.2 per cent); Northern, 19,491 (7.8 per cent); Bono, 8.972 (3.6 per cent); Bono East, 9, 681 (3.9 per cent); Volta, 12,190 (4.9 per cent); Upper West, 8,474 (3.4 per cent); Eastern, 25, 625 (10.2 per cent); Central, 27, 984 (11.1 per cent), and Ahafo, 6, 273 (2.5 per cent).

The remaining registrations are Ashanti, 44,232 (17.6 per cent), Western North; 9,134 (3.6 per cent); Oti; 7, 259 (2.9 per cent); Savannah 5, 261 (2.1 per cent); and Western Region, 15,100 (6.0 per cent).

Dr. Asare said first-time voters, who are between the ages of 18 and 21, make up most registered voters in the country, accounting for 221,066 total registered voters within the first six days.

He said in the first five days of the registration exercise, a total of 98, 926 applications, or 39.39 per cent, used the Ghana Card, while 622 applicants, representing 0.25 per cent, used passports.

Dr Asare said the guarantor system had been used by 151,601 applicants, representing 60.36 per cent.

The EC said the Greater Accra Region recorded the most cases of challenges with 524 out of 2,935 total.

“The guarantor system continues to dominate the forms of identification. This is something the Commission is not proud of because it is used by political parties and certain persons to facilitate the registration of unqualified persons such as minors and foreigners,” he said.

Dr Asare said the Commission was hopeful that in future registration exercises, the guarantor system would be the sole identity document to help curb the chaos in registration centres over the ages and nationality of applicants.

The Commission appealed to political parties to desist from using violence to challenge the eligibility of applicants and resort to the appropriate modalities to resolve such cases.

It also appealed to parents to ensure that children below the ages of 18 years did not go to register.