Scores of prospective voters who chose the Short Message Service (SMS) platform by the Electoral Commission (EC) to verify their details in the voter’s register, have commended the Commission for the innovation and expressed satisfaction with the service.

To access the service, prospective voters are required to send their identification card numbers to the short-code 1422 and the details would pop-up.

The SMS is one of the platforms deployed by the Commission to aid voters verify and authenticate details on their identity cards during the Voters’ Register Exhibition Exercise ahead of the December polls, as mandated by Constitutional Instrument 91.

A Chief Reporter at the Ghana News Agency, Mr Morkporkpor Anku, who accessed the service, said the electronic means of verifying one’s information on the register was simple and fast.

“It is very convenient and has helped me to save time. I commend the EC for introducing this initiative. As we are battling to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, this is one of the ways to go,” he added.

A trader at Tema Station, Naa Korkor, said she opted to use the SMS service due to her busy work schedule, adding: “The nature of my work is such that by the time I get home it will be late and Sundays are busy for me so this works well for me.”

She said the 30 pesewa charge was more reasonable than the about GHS15 she would pay as the cost of transportation to and from her centre. 

The Chairperson of the EC, Mrs Jean Mensa, speaking at the “Let the Citizen Know” media briefing in Accra, said the SMS platform was part of the Commission’s “innovations to ensure the safety and security of our stakeholders and to make life easier for all prospective voters.”

She said the exhibition exercise, which started on Friday, September 18, would end on September 25, and urged prospective voters to participate fully in the exercise as it was an important aspect of the election process.

“It has been observed that over the years, turnout for the exercise had always been low. Prospective voters are, hereby, encouraged to check their details to ensure that all information captured are accurate in the register,” she said.

Mrs Mensa said the Commission was, under Constitutional Instrument 91, mandated to compile a voters’ register and display it for public inspection and correction.