President Akufo-Addo has advised electorates against apathy with barely 10 hours to the polls

Addressing the nation ahead of the December 7, polls, the President quoted Greek philosopher Plato saying, “The punishment suffered by the wise who refuse to take part in the government, is to live under the government of worse men.”

In view of that, he urged all and sundry to go out tomorrow and exercise their franchise to elect a leader to occupy the Jubilee House, for the next four years.

“Using your God-given and constitutional rights costs nothing, but staying home can come at a very steep price. So, I entreat all eligible voters to turn out in your numbers, cast your vote, and, thereby, exercise your sovereign right to the making of government in the country,” he said.

President Akufo-Addo further assured electorates that as the Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, he is poised to deliver a peaceful election.

He stressed that the atmosphere for Monday, December 7, polls will be violence free and devoid of intimidation as voters exercise their civic duties.

“The security services have assured me that they have made adequate preparations to protect the sanctity of the process.

“They have assured me of their determination to carry out their duties without fear or favour. Improper behaviour by any citizen, no matter their political colour, will not be tolerated, and I am encouraged by the assurance by the Inspector General of Police, as well as by the heads of the other security services, that they will be even-handed in their response to issues,” he said.

A total number of 17,027,641 electorates are eligible to exercise their franchise during the presidential and parliamentary elections.

The number of valid voters was captured by the EC in its compilation exercise earlier this year.

Per the breakdown of the total number of electorates, Greater Accra had the highest number of 3,528, 996 valid voters with the Ashanti Region following closely with 3,019,178 valid voters.

North East and Savannah Region had the lowest number of electorates.

The total number of eligible voters for both regions are 289,529 and 298,404 respectively.

In the year 2016, the number of registered voters were 15,712,499. Over the last four years, the number of electorates qualified to cast their votes has increased by 1,315,142.

Source:  Myjoyonline.com