A minor being convinced to vote. Watania Primary

Some minors were spotted yesterday in voting queues at the Watania Primary, Aboabo in the Tamale Central Constituency in the Northern Region of Ghana. The polling area has been described by our reporters as a no-go area for the media, ostensibly because of the involvement of minors in the voting process.

We received reports of minors being coerced and persuaded to vote in at the Watania Primary polling centre.

According to our checks at the constituency, residents in the area did not allow photographs to be taken and the media received harsh reception in the area. Our EC accredited reporter who visited the Watania Primary said police stationed at the polling centre looked on without attempting any intervention.

Minors in queue

Our reporter, who managed to take pictures of minors he saw in the voting queue, was met with threats on his life. Some unidentified men threatened to take him to the Tamale forest where they planned to leave him there injured. He still managed to take some shots of the minors.

It may be recalled that the Electoral Commission, in a press conference, displayed photographs of some minors in Tamale Central Constituency registered as voters.

Ghanaians under age 18, once registered in the Voters Register and gazetted, cannot be prohibited from voting on Election Day. They can, however, be prosecuted after investigations reveal they are indeed minors. The Electoral Commission has appealed to guardians to keep under-aged registered voters away from polling stations.

Voting resumes today in the constituency.