A forum to debate the arguments for and against the compilation of a new voters' register for the 2016 general elections is currently underway in Accra.

Presentation by Akua Donkor of GFP

A short presentation ends with her position that there is no need for new register.

Presentation by National Reform Party….Dr David Percy

Dr. David Percy is one person who thinks the NRP is not dead. He says the party is an active participant at IPAC, a forum where politcal parties meet to resolve issues.

He says the party is proud of electoral system because it is robust and has all mechanisms in place to address whatever issues whether real or imagined.

He wants political parties to focus on selling their programmes and policies instead of pushing the EC to make changes to electoral register.

He explains that a party that puts up incompetent leaders will not put in the effort needed to win elections.

“We insist its time we took our collective heads out of the sand….we have to deal with the elephant in the room…its business of political parties to work….to prepare platforms that will attract citizenry…and if they will not do any of these they have no right to threaten our peace….”

 

Electoral Commission's presentation

Charlotte Osei traced the history of electoral reforms from 1992 when there were no photos on electoral I.D. In 1996, there were pictures of voters on ID cards but still people complained about impersonation, minors etc. Even in 2012 despite biometric registration exercise there are still compliants. However a significant complaint which is multiple registration was eliminated.

She is explained how biometric register is compiled. She says Electoral officials collect encrypted biometric data which is uploaded to the district server and transmitted to a central server.

There is a system to flag suspected duplicate registrations and deleted upon the recommendations of the adjudicating offer, the supervisor and district committee. Polling agents of all political parties are accredited to monitor the registration exercise.

Is it still possible to have multiple registration? She rhetorically ask. Yes it is possible, she answers. This is because the system is over 98% efficient but still not perfect.

She stresses that the register is not static. It is constantly been updated.  About 158,000 multiple names have been be deleted in collaboration with political parties.

She says minors and dishonest parents are lured by political parties. Some parents also just don't know the age of their children. She says about  8,000 voters were identified as 18 year-old at one registration exercise and some years after, they still claimed they were still 18 years.

She wants people to avoid an emotive definition of citizenship and focus on a constitutional definition of Ghanaian citizenship. Constitutionally even an adopted person can be a Ghanaian. People who look different may be constitutionally entitled to a voters' ID card.

"We cannot use an emotive definition and say this one is a Ghanaian and this one is not a Ghanaian".

She says if Ghanaians want laws to be changed on who is a Ghanaian, the right steps can be taken.

She says Ghana has estimated total population of 27.7 million with 15.3 million as the estimated voter population but it is actually more than 14 million on the voters’ register.

At the time they were creating the register they had only one month so they could not finish covering the estimated voter population.

She says  people in Ghana have a high incentive to be on the electoral roll. People need Voters’ ID to open bank accounts and several other purposes.

The National I.D system could have reduced the incentive to register. The Electoral card is the de facto national I.D card. If the NIS was in place it will reduce to incentive to register minors.

She says a new register will need a new legal instrument, training, and immense logistical support which time may not favour.

She says there is a social stability cost because the agreesive posture of the two political parties means opening up 30,000 polling stations for registration can be opening up 30,000 conflict zones.

If we start this new register, people can produce a passport a license or a national ID card. If you do not have these then how are we going to register such a person.

The person cannot use the existing voters’ ID card because it will eventually mean the new one will have all the old names on it.

She is backing the “surgical” method proposed by IDEG’s Dr. Akwetey as a way of dealing with the bloated register.

 

NPP has written three love letters to me

She is addressing a concern raised by the NPP that the EC had not responded to a letter they wrote to her. My first ‘love letter’ was a request for a new voters’ register. The NPP made their case says about 52% of the estimated population are on the voters’ register which is too high.

In August this year the NPP brought another letter saying there are 76,000 foreigners on the register. The NPP says they are scrutinising the Togo register and have done only 10% checks.

Another letter in September made claims that there are minors and incomplete details of voters on the register.

She says the EC wants to respond but before it does the NPP sends anoter letter. She says it is a bug, a technical problem that records peoples’ ages as zero. It does not mean the people have no age.

She says the EC is waitng for Togo’s register to check it against NPP’s claims.

She says the EC by itself cannot ensure a credible register. The political parties are also responsible for compiling the register. If any political party does not want a credible register there are ways it can work to ensure Ghana does not have a register.

“Are we the problem and we just keep shifting from one technology to another”

It is also important that offenders including minors are sanctioned. Public education is key.