Pollster Ben Ephson has said that challenges surrounding “minors and foreigners” on the newly compiled voters’ register are not much of a ‘big deal’.
The EC boss, Mrs. Jean Mensa, at a press briefing on Wednesday, August 12, 2020, admitted that a number of minors and foreigners have found their way onto the register.
However, in an interview with Captain Smart on Angel FM, Thursday, Ben Ephson said that “the various district committees will look through the challenges associated with EC’s admission that there are foreigners and minors on the new register.”
“The challenges are not really many; just a little over 30,000,” he told host of the morning show, Captain Smart.
He added that the number of eligible voters would have shot up to about 19.5 or 20 million if the Electoral Commission had gone ahead to add on to the previous register.
“But definitely, it confirms my stand and the EC’s stand that in 2016, we would have been reaching 19.5 or 20 million thereabouts if people are added,” he stated in Twi.
A pat on the back
The pollster, who doubles as Managing Editor of the Daily Dispatch newspaper, also said that the EC had done a wonderful job after successfully compiling the new voters’ register across the country.
Additionally, Ben Ephson was of the view that some students who benefitted from the government’s Free Senior High School policy would vote for the governing New Patriotic Party come December 7, to appreciate the government.
The other side of the coin is that the youth, who haven’t been gainfully employed two years after completing school, would vote against the ruling party, he added.
The pollster further advised “smart” political parties to target the 1.3 million first time voters comprising over 762, 000 18-year-olds and over 612,000 19-year-olds, if they wish to succeed in this year’s election.
