In the run up to the compilation of a new Voters Register in June this year, the Electoral Commission(EC), in their frantic attempt to justify the need for the exercise advanced several arguments among which were the following:
1. The old Voters Register was overbloated.
2. The old Voters Register didn’t have facial recognition features.
3. The old Voters Register was incredible and not fit for a credible elections.
They said all these among many other reasons against the objective advice from many stakeholders including the NDC, National House of Chiefs etc that, time was not on our side to experiment a new system. “It will be dangerous to play with our electoral system at this time”, I heard the National House of Chiefs caution. The EC remained recalcitrant and somehow got the support of the Supereme Court(SC) and as such, went ahead and compiled a new Register in June/July 2020.
Interestingly, after spending a colossal amount of over $150m, the EC is out with a more beleaguered register, fraught with all kinds of inconsistencies than the one they threw away in June. Obviously, the new register has failed to address the ECs argument with inconsistencies as follows:
1. It is even more bloated than the old one by over 2 million registered voters with anomalies such as, same code numbers for several people, mass deletion of names of registrants etc.
2. No facial recognition system, for which they threw away the old register was configured in the Biometric Verification Devices(BVDs).
3. The new Voter ID Card is far less quality compared to the Old one.
So why did the EC compile the new register?
The worst of it, instead of them to feel apologetic to Ghanaians and take steps to right the wrongs, they are rather preparing to open another round of registration exercise in October. According to them, they are opening to register those who have just turned 18 years. Can you imagine? Having closed registration barely 2 months ago? What rubbish!
Are the EC and Akufo Addo suggesting that, those who will turn 18 in November, can also call for reopening of registration to afford them the opportunity to register and therefore after every two months, Ghanaians who will turn 18 will have the right to use the courts to compel the EC to open registration to get them on the roll? What a joke!
One would have thought that, the EC will rather concentrate on rectifying the product of negligence in the register instead of reopening a new registration after just two months. Is it to create more expenditure to justify the “consumption” of over 150 million US Dollars?
What an Amoebic and Enigmatic Electoral Commission we have under Akufo Addo? Isn’t it amazing that, after attaining 74 years in life, such an octogenarian will seek to cling on to political power by all means? By hook or by crook? Could it be “the owners” mentality that is driving them to usurp the mandate of the people? How I wish, Massa, how I wish…any way, “7th December, hurry up and come”.
Shamsu Mohammed, A Political Activist.
