A former Executive Director of the National Identification Authority (NIA), Professor Ernest Dumor has stated that concerns over the credibility of the voter’s register could have been averted if the Authority had been allowed to do its work.
The National Identification Authority was mandated under former President Kufuor’s administration to facilitate the creation of a national platform that will provide information for national development.
Their mandate among other things was to provide citizens with a national ID to replace the different identification systems currently in use.
[contextly_sidebar id=”9Mmx1hANo6MzC8yfTL5xbKys8ozPGbZP”]However, the Authority is yet to roll out a full implementation of the policy due to a number of challenges.
The Electoral Commission is also facing pressure from some political parties and civil societies to review the current voter’s register. According to the petitioners, the current register is bloated hence lacks credibility.
But speaking on the Time with Legends on the Citi Breakfast Show, Professor Dumor maintained that the current issues would not have occurred.
“If we were to have allowed the NIA system to operate the way it was designed, with regular updates along the way, I think the problem we have with elections will have significantly been reduced, my concern now is to think through how we can remake the NIA and move it forward,” he said.
Professor Dumor who also served with the EC for over a decade also disagreed with persons who accuse the EC of being solely responsible for the bloated voters’ register.
Recounting his experience of compiling a voters’ register while in office, Professor Dumor also accused politicians of seizing any available opportunity to ‘cheat in elections’.
He further advocated a collaboration from all stakeholders to reverse the trend.
“I think basically you cannot put the blame entirely on the EC …if we want the system to work, it is the participants that must work with the EC to make it effective, even if the register is full proof,” he said.
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By: Pius Amihere Eduku/citifmonline.com/Ghana