EC to update Parliament on limited registration exercise on November 8

The Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Jean Mensa, is expected to appear before Parliament on Wednesday, November 8, 2023, to update the House on its limited voter registration exercise.

Over 600,000 new voters were registered by the EC during its limited voter registration exercise, which began on September 12, 2023.

The Minority in Parliament says that the EC’s decision to restrict the exercise to its district offices has imposed a financial burden on Members of Parliament.

Opening the business statement on Tuesday, the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, said that the EC boss would provide an update on the electoral process to the House next week.

“Mr Speaker, [Alban Bagbin] pursuant to order 44, the leadership of the business committee proposed that the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, be invited to attend upon the house [on] November 8, 2023, at a close sitting to brief members of the house on matters arising from the recently held limited voter registration exercise undertaken by the commission and other related matters. Of course, it wasn’t necessary to castigate the EC when you have not heard from them, it was unnecessary,” the Majority Leader said.

Despite calls by both the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) and various civil society organizations to extend the deadline for the registration exercise, the EC maintained its stance, with the exercise ending on October 2, 2023, without an extension date.