The Electoral Commission (EC) is to establish a Modality Committee which will streamline activities of political parties at its District offices during continuous registration.
This will come into force when the new CI before parliament is passed, to make registration exercise at its District offices transparent.
Director of Electoral Services at the EC, Dr. Serebour Quaicoe speaking on Behind the News, said the EC remains resolute in focusing on continuous registration, with the Ghana card as the only source of identification.
According to ACE, The Electoral Knowledge Network, a think tank, continuous Voters Register has multiple advantages;
- The voters’ list is kept current because it is updated regularly;
- The list can be open for public inspection at all times of the year, not only during a specified period;
- Since the list is always ready, there is never any particular problem in the timing of a general or partial election (i.e. a by-election to fill a vacated seat in the legislature);
- The final voters’ list can be prepared more quickly. Usually, there is a revision period during an election campaign to ensure that every eligible person has the opportunity to be included on the voters’ list. With a periodic list, the campaign period may be used for the development of the initial voters’ list, as well as for the revision and production of the final list. With a continuous register, the initial list is generally taken to be the list in place at the outset of the election campaign. As a result, the official election period can be shortened by the time that would have been required to develop an initial voters’ list;
- Changes and corrections can be made throughout the year and not only during registration drives. This lessens time pressure and can be expected to enhance the accuracy of a continuous list;
- Use of a continuous list is not necessarily a less costly method of registration. Still, it provides opportunities for efficiencies in the creation of a voters’ list – for example, through information sharing;
- A continuous list can be used for other purposes, such as industry elections in Australia, the forming of jury pools in the United States or guidance in electoral districting;