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Electorate in Kumasi are in a mad rush for replacement of lost voters identity cards at the offices of the Electoral Commission (EC) at Bantama in the Kumasi Metropolis.

Voters who have lost their voters identity cards formed long and winding queues at the EC offices, some of whom got to the offices as early as 5 a.m. yesterday.

The District Officer in Charge of the Bantama office which included Nhyiaeso and Kwadaso sub metros, Mr Frank Okraku, told the Daily Graphic that averagely, the offices replaced 60 cards on a daily basis.
He explained that this had gone on since the EC announced that people who had lost their voters identity cards could get new ones. 

Voters

Ms Mary Ansah, a student, told the Daily Graphic she lost her card about two years ago and decided to seek a replacement and therefore had to be at the EC office as early as 6 a.m. just to beat the long queues.

“Unfortunately, when they opened the offices around 8a.m., I was told that I had to pay the GH¢5 at the Ghana Commercial Bank before they will replace the card for me,” she added.

Asked why she was in a rush to secure the replacement, she explained that it was not necessarily for the November polls but to use it as a national identity card for some transactions.

Roberts Owusu, a mechanic from Suame who resides at Nhyiaeso, said he had received some remittance from his younger brother in the United States and that was the reason why he was at the EC offices to replace his identity card so that he would be able to collect his money from the bank.

Nyako Owusua, a 56-year-old trader, said she lost her card through market fire and needed to secure a new one to enable her to use it to vote during the November 2016 general election.

EC

Recently, just before the start of the limited voter registration, the EC issued a statement calling on registered voters who had misplaced their cards to have them replaced in all district offices nationwide.

It said applicants would be required to pay a replacement fee of GH¢5 into the commission's bank account and take the deposit slip to the district office of the commission, where they registered for spot printing and collection of the new ID cards. The fee may be paid at any branch of GCB Bank nationwide.