The Ghana Catholic Bishops\u2019 Conference has challenged the Electoral Commission (EC) to compile a new voter\u2019s register if allegations that the register is bloated with names of foreign nationals is established.<\/p>\n
\u201c…allegations of over 76,000 names<\/a><\/strong><\/span> of persons from neighbouring countries discovered in the current register must be investigated and the proper process be conducted if the allegations are found to be true. If this and other allegations are found to be true, it will be necessary to have a new voters’ register to enable people to have confidence in the electoral process,\u201d the Bishops\u00a0noted\u00a0in a statement.<\/p>\n [contextly_sidebar id=”rHyWyWjxrt1tZlbZRTbRpLhfFN8YIj3c”] Following claims by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) that the existing\u00a0voters’ register is bloated with names of foreigners and minors, the Electoral Commission\u00a0has\u00a0hired an independent IT expert<\/a><\/strong><\/span> to investigate the matter.<\/p>\n The\u00a0statement signed by the President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops\u2019 Conference, Most Rev. Joseph Osei-Bonsu, urged the Commission and its stakeholders to \u201cjointly guarantee and safeguard\u201d the credibility of the nation’s electoral system.<\/p>\n The Conference also encouraged the Commission to ensure that no one within the voting age is disenfranchised while calling on government to provide the EC with the necessary logistics and resources to enhance their work.<\/p>\n \u201c…the necessary resources and logistics should be made available by the government to the Electoral Commission, so that it can be sufficiently equipped for the task of updating the voters register and make it worthy of confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n The Ghana Catholic Bishops\u2019 Conference said it believes that the time has come “for all of us, as citizens of Ghana, to work conscientiously to satisfy the need to strike the right balance to ensure integrity of the voters register and the need for flexibility to ensure that the peoples\u2019 right to register and vote is safeguarded.\u201d<\/p>\n Several bodies and groups including the Christian Council of Ghana (CCG) have also\u00a0called on the Electoral Commission to boost the credibility of the voters’ register<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.<\/p>\n The CCG had stated that \u201cin order not to give anybody doubts about the 2016 General Elections and ensure that electorate have confidence in the voters\u2019 register and the electoral process, the CCG recommends to the Commission to ensure that the register is credible.\u201d<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n By: Godwin A. Allotey\/citifmonline.com\/Ghana<\/p>\n