By Dennis Peprah, GNA
Sunyani, Dec. 17, GNA – Mr. Thomas Asirifi, a-102-year-old man, defied the “cold weather” condition in the early hours of Tuesday to participate in the District Level Elections (DLEs) which started earnestly in some Electoral Areas in the Sunyani East Municipality without hitches.
Mr. Asirifi was sighted at the Bakers Cooperative Office, Sunyani Victoria Park of the Ahenboboano Electoral Area, around 0630 hours and was the first voter to cast his ballot, when the Ghana News Agency (GNA) visited the polling station.
He told the GNA the DLEs was crucial towards deepening the nation’s local government system, hence the need for all patriotic citizens to participate in the exercise.
Mr. Asirifi who is among the 463 registered voters in the polling station called on eligible voters to come out in their numbers and participate in the elections, and advised them to ensure that they voted for competent candidates to represent the electoral area.
Meanwhile, voter turnouts in many of the polling stations in the Municipality visited were extremely poor.
Though voting started exactly 0700 hours without hitches, as at 0730 hours no voter had cast his or her ballot at the Rural Development Store Victoria Park “B” which has 450 registered voters and Rural Development Store Victoria Park “A” which has 661 registered voters.
Presiding Officers said all voting materials arrived in time. There were security personnel – officers from the Ghana Police Service, Ghana National Fire Service and Ghana Prison Service each at a polling station.
Mr. Abeka Sakyi, one of the presiding officers told the GNA he was hopeful voter turnout would improve.
The situation was however not different at the Atoase Electoral Area in the Municipality, as the usual queues that characterised General Election were virtually absent in most of the polling stations.
Political watchers attributed the poor voter turnout to low publicity about the exercise.
Mr. Solomon Ernest, an employee of the Ghana Cocoa Board observed many Ghanaians still did not understand the relevance of the DLEs and therefore called for intensive public education on it.
GNA
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