Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

By Beatrice Akua Savage,GNA

Accra, Dec. 7, GNA – Polls started an hour late at the Soul Care Assemblies of God, Freetown Polling Centre, in the Atomic Electoral Area in the Dome Kwabenya Constituency in the Greater Accra Region.

This follows the arrival of voting materials and the Biometric Verification Devices at 0648 hours.

The polling officers at the centre, which houses five polling stations, took the party agents through security details of the materials and the recording procedures of voters and their ballots.

There was optimal cooperation among polling officers and the party agents, as well as the voters, for the completion of the exercise, critical for ensuring transparency and the credibility of the polls.

The Presiding Officer at the Polling Station B, Madam Janet Adu – Gyamfi, demonstrated to her team that there were 686 voters on the register, while 720 ballot papers were received. All the relevant items were also provided in their expected states.

When voting started, the elderly and pregnant women were given the opportunity to go through the Covid-19 safety protocols first and to cast their ballots.

Mr Frank Kwame Asare, 44, an estates developer, who was first in the queue, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that he arrived at the centre at 2200 hours on Sunday night.

He said he endured annoying mosquitoes and the cold night air because he wanted to complete his civic responsibility ahead of his personal chores.

“As a patriotic citizen, it is important for me to elect the right persons to steer the affairs of the nation, and this must be done peacefully,” he said.

Forty- year marketing executive, Madam Harriet Owusu Ansah, who also stayed the night, said she found it a sacred responsibility to choose her leaders.

She advised voters to avoid debates and conflicts, saying,” At this point, you should know that it’s your vote that matters and not your opinion.”

Security officers and an observer from the National Peace Council were present to perform their respective observer roles.

The Dome/Kwabenya Constituency Parliamentary seat is being contested by the NPP’s incumbent MP, Sarah Adwoa Safo, the NDC’s Faustina Elipkilim Akurugu, the LPG’s Kofi Kwachie Asante, the PNC’s Abdul Kadri Issah and an independent candidate, Anderson Adongo Emmanuel.

GNA