The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has rejected the proposal by the Electoral Commission (EC) to compile new Voters’ Register ahead of 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary elections.
NDC at the news conference addressed by its General-Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia said there is nothing wrong with the current register, because, “two days ago, the current voters’ register was used to successfully elect about 6,600 District Assembly members and about 33,000 Unit Committee members”.
“Yet the EC is telling us that that same register cannot be used to elect one President and 275 Members of Parliament and therefore a new voters’ register must be compiled.”
“What has suddenly gone wrong with the register or what is likely to go wrong with the register between now and the election day of December 7, 2020 to warrant such a decision?” he asked.
He said the two key objectives for the adoption of improved technology in the compilation of an electoral register were to improve the confidence of stakeholders in the credibility of the register and to prevent electoral fraud by way of impersonation, multiple voting, ineligible voting, and inaccurate or fake results declaration, among others.
Mr Asiedu Nketia said however, the Party was of the view those objectives were inter-twined and were either achieved or lost together.
“While conceding that it is possible to procure a technology that can reduce electoral fraud to the barest minimum, that technology would be useless if the processes leading to its acquisition lead to the erosion of confidence of stakeholders in the technology and its end product, the voters’ register”.
“There-in lies the wisdom of carrying all stakeholders along the path of openness, transparency, verifiability and accountability, which is the only way to achieve the much needed confidence in any new system.”
He said to enhance transparency and inspire confidence in the system, the EC should constitute a technical committee with representatives of the political parties as members, with the EC’s technical Committee to examine the status of the current systems.
He therefore called on the media, civil society organisations, and the diplomatic community to make their voices heard on the decision of the EC to compile a new register for the 2020 elections.
Story filed by Edzorna Francis Mensah.
