Former President of Ghana, Jerry John Rawlings, has waded into the hullabaloo over the compilation of a\u00a0new voters’ register ahead of the 2016 elections.<\/p>\n
Speaking to leaders of pro-opposition pressure group, Let My Vote Count Alliance (LMVCA) who paid a courtesy call on him at his residence, the former President\u00a0said although 2016 is going to be a challenging electoral process, the \u201cstress can be minimized\u201d if various stakeholders ensure the creation of a credible voters’ register.<\/p>\n
[contextly_sidebar id=”yH6xZDlABEuXckwMsMSoNZRyOx3rRvNh”]\u201c2016 is going to be another challenging electoral process. There is a lot of stress involved and it \u00a0is going to be a test on all of us. In order to minimize the stressfulness into 2016, everything possible must be done to ensure a very credible electoral process which means that we listen to what some of the elders are saying in the churches \u00a0etc, to examine what\u2019s going on, to give the registry, the electoral process into the elections a very credible climate, a very credible instrument and platform; I think let\u2019s do it\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n
The former President added \u201cI have always said that it is an unfortunate thing to abuse the sanctity of the heart of choice and the only way you can prevent and contain things from getting out of hand is to ensure that the electoral process and the voters ‘ register are as credible as possible,\u201d Rawlings stressed.<\/p>\n
He believes the governing NDC should have no fears creating a new register in order to win the confidence of the electorate.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a sitting government, I think if we feel pretty confident about that register, we should have no fears about doing what needs to be done to win the confidence, to take away doubts \u00a0\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has \u00a0asked for a\u00a0new voters’ register after it alleged that the old one had been bloated.<\/p>\n
The Vice Presidential Candidate of the party, Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia, alleged that about 80,000 foreign nationals had been registered on the current register.<\/p>\n
Their concerns pushed the Electoral Commission (EC) to ask for proposals for a possible creation of\u00a0a new register from various parties and groups.<\/p>\n
The EC is expected to analyse the proposals and take a final decision on the matter.<\/p>\n
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By: Marian Efe Ansah\/citifmonline.com\/Ghana
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