35% of voter population will not register for new voter ID card – Survey reveals

35% of the current voter population will not risk their lives going to out to register if the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana goes ahead with its avowed aim to compile a new biometric voters register for the conduct of the 2020 general elections, the outcome of a survey by the Chamber for Local Governance (ChaLoG) has revealed.

That means with a voter population of about 17,912,205, a total of about 6,269,271.75 of the voter population will not turn out to register.

This is because they are afraid of contracting the ever increasing spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) disease.

Nevertheless, nearly half (48%), thus about 8,597,858.4 of the current voter population is ready and willing to go out to register in the exercise which will commence on June 30, 2020.

In a statement dated Monday, June 15, 2020, and released in Accra, ChaLoG said 10% (about 1,791,220.5) of the current voter population indicated strongly that they are having a second thought, hence, have not yet decided whether they would go to the polling stations to re-register or not.

“Their reasons were mainly based on the fact that the COVID-19 cases in Ghana keeps rising by the day and they will only have a change of mind and consider re-registering if there is a clear indication the COVID-19 infections are coming down as at the time the EC announces the date for the exercise”, the statement in part read.

A further 7% (about 1,253,854.31) of the current voter population indicated that they would only go to re-register after they have assessed the public health and safety mechanisms (COVID-19 preventive measure protocols) put in place by the EC at the respective polling stations and are convinced beyond reasonable doubts that they would be safe and free from contracting the COVID019.

The survey, according to ChaLoG, engaged 4,800 respondents who are voters across in all the sixteen (16) of the country between March 23 and 30, 2020.

“Three hundred (300) respondents were randomly selected from each of the sixteen (16) regions and the data collected was analyzed using SPSS method. A sample of this size yields country-level results with a margin of error +/-2 percentage points at a 95% confidence”, the statement in part noted.

The survey, according to ChaLoG was conducted following the report of COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana as reported by the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman Manu, on March 12, 2020, to determine the readiness or otherwise of current voters (persons whose names are in the soon to be replaced biometric voters register) on the upcoming compilation of the new biometric voters register by the EC in the midst of the pandemic.

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