Pressure group, Let My Vote Count Alliance (LMVA) has criticized the Chairman of Ghana’s Electoral Commission (EC), Charlotte Osei for not clarifying the commission’s stance on incessant calls for a new voters’ register ahead of the 2016 elections.
According to the group, the “deliberate” delays by the EC in making a decision on the voter’s register “could easily be a recipe for disaster in future elections”
[contextly_sidebar id=”qavynGYPhBl2Us6e4jzTZIyFI28uResj”]A statement signed by the group’s convener, David Asante, said: “The commissioner has not given a reply to the good people of Ghana whether to do a new register, or clean the existing register .The unreasonable deliberate delays and dithering on the part of the Commission is a dangerous practice. The Electoral Commission of Ghana over 5 months period has walked this Nation along a volatile path of uncertainty over what the future state of the voters register is . This could easily be a recipe for disaster in future elections.”
The group has spearheaded efforts to, in its opinion, get a new, more credible voters’ register ahead of the general elections in November next year.
Let My Vote Count’s efforts culminated in a demonstration which resulted in clashes between the police and protesters in Adabraka.
“In our own case, Mrs. Charlotte Osei is dragging her feet unnecessarily, showing little on her decision on the supreme court ruling that the NHIS card should not be used to register. Again the commission is mute on the call for a new credible voter register and is unwilling to open up to Ghana on her plans for a credible voter register. Prof. Jega said in his lecture organised by the IEA that ” the credibility of an election depends largely on the credibility of the voters register,” the LMVCA added in its statement.
Other groups, most notably the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), have reiterated the call for a new voters’ register, alleging the current one is bloated with names of foreigners and minors.
Ramadan argues that a Supreme Court ruling in 2014 that the National Health Insurance Card was an illegal form of identification for voters strengthens his latest suit.
Below is the full statement from Let My Vote Count:
EC MUST SPEAK NOW ON THE WAY FORWARD FOR A CREDIBLE VOTERS REGISTER.
It will be recalled that since August 2015 the Let my Vote Count Alliance as well as other well meaning Ghanaians have collectively at different times sought for the EC to give us a NEW CREDIBLE VOTERS REGISTER;
strangely, the commissioner has not given a reply to the good people of Ghana whether to do a new register, or clean the existing register .The unreasonable deliberate delays and dithering on the part of the Commission is a dangerous practice.
The Electoral Commission of Ghana over 5 months period has walked this Nation along a volatile path of uncertainty over what the future state of the voters register is . This could easily be a recipe for disaster in future elections
The commissioner could not be transparent enough before the Parliament of Ghana to tell when the 5 – member committee report will be communicated to Ghana and the final decision of the commission on the subject of a new credible voters register.
In a not too distant land, our sister country Nigeria has conducted an election that meets internationally acceptable best practices and according to the then commissioner of Nigeria (Prof. Attahiru Jega) “it’s illogical not to change a register that has so many irregularities in it”, and after changing the Nigeria voters register, his team went ahead to clean it from 73.5 million to 58 million people all in an effort to follow best practices and ensure transparency in order to win the trust of the citizenry in the Commission.
In our own case, Mrs. Charlotte Osei is dragging her feet unnecessarily, showing little on her decision on the supreme court ruling that the NHIS card should not be used to register. Again the commisson is mute on the call for a new credible voter register and is unwilling to open up to Ghana on her plans for a credible voter register. Prof. Jega said in his lecture organised by the IEA that ” the credibility of an election depends largely on the credibility of the voters register”.
We wish to remind the EC of Ghana that the destiny of Ghana in 2016 and beyond is in their hands and all we are asking the commission to do as a matter of urgency is to Speak Now, for Ghana is waiting attentively to hear her voice on the way forward for a credible voter register.
We wait patiently the Commission must speak now on the way forward
Signed
David Asante
Convener, Let My Vote Count Alliance
By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana