The National Council of Parent-Teacher Associations of Ghana says it should have been consulted by the Electoral Commission (EC) before deciding on an exercise to register students who are eligible voters in Senior High Schools.
The council believes the registration is an intrusion on the purpose for which students were brought to school.
“The students were to be in school to do their revision and sit for the exams,” Alexander Danso, the President of National Council of Parent-Teacher Associations, said in an interview.
Also, he is worried that, the students are being exposed to more risk of contracting COVID-19.
“Those who are coming to do the registration, have they been tested? Are they free from the virus? We have to take into consideration all these things,” Mr. Danso noted.
“But if you don’t consult and you don’t do anything and you say, you are going to register the students, is that why they brought them back to the school? That is not part of it,” he added.
Some observers had expressed fears that the eligible students would be disenfranchised because they were not allowed to leave the school premises as part of the COVID-19 safety protocols.
After consultation with the Ghana Education Service, the Commission allocated two days, July 10 and July 11, to go to senior high schools and register students.
This registration will take place in all Senior High Schools that do not have polling stations within them.
The EC, also said, additional days will be announced if it becomes necessary to ensure that all eligible applicants are registered.
In a response to the legal basis for the new arrangement, the Director of Electoral Services at the EC, Dr. Serebour Quaicoe clarified that registration of the students will be matched to the current registration centers that have been gazetted for the registration.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) had raised concerns about the legality of the EC’s move to register the eligible Senior High School students.
