The Dean of the School of Information and Communications Studies at the University of Ghana, Professor Audrey Gadzekpo is urging the Electoral Commission (EC) to soften its stance on discussions on the voters register.

She said it would be better for the electoral body to try and be much softer, less entrenched, and more persuasive to Ghanaians in carrying out their duties.

Professor Gadzekpo said it’s important for the EC to listen to the majority of Ghanaians in order to make decisions that would not bring agitations.

Her comment comes as many people are questioning the credibility or otherwise of the current voters register for the polls on November 7.

The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) and other political parties have questioned the credibility of the electoral roll to be used for the 2016 general elections.

Abu Ramadan, a former Youth Organiser of the Convention People's Party (CPP) and an NPP activist, Evans Nimako had prayed the Supreme Court to among other reliefs: declare the register of voters unconstitutional, null and void, and therefore of no effect; to delete the names of all persons on the voter register who registered NHIS identity card as a means of identification; to automatically delete the names of all persons on the voter register who registered with the NHIS identity card as a means of identification and an order that the Electoral Commission to validate the Voter’s Register.

Consequently, on May 5, the Supreme Court ordered the EC to clean the voters register of persons who used the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) cards to register. 

Thus far, it has become a battle of interpretation as there have been varied interpretations to the apex court’s judgement, with Abu Ramadan and the EC interpreting it otherwise.

The EC says the court did not order them to delete names of persons who registered with the NHIS card from the register. 

However, Prof. Gadzekpo says, "When the electoral body takes an entrenched position against what a good majority of the people feel they are undermining credibility in themselves and in the process, it is for the EC try as much as they can to comply with what the Supreme Court has ruled," . 

She told Joy News' Beatrice Adu on sidelines of a lecture at the Kofi Annan Peacekeeping Center that it is for the EC to begin to assure Ghanaians that they are going to do the right thing.  

Prof. Gadzekpo recommended that the EC if they are able to, for some reason, they ought to be explaining to Ghanaians why it is that they have to do things in a particular way and why Ghanaians must trust that they are doing the right thing.