The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) is urging the Electoral Commission (EC) to put in place a backup system for potential challenges ahead of the mass registration exercise which is set to commence on Tuesday, June 30 and the subsequent general elections in December.

This according to the Commissioner, Joseph Whittal will ensure that no qualified voter is disenfranchised in the upcoming exercise.

His caution follows a Supreme Court ruling on Thursday, June 25 in favor of a decision by the EC to compile a new voters' register amid strong objection by some political groups and civil society organisations.

"The EC should provide backups to deal with potential challenges that may be posed by faulty machines. The whole exercise is not to disenfranchise eligible voters starting with the registration and later on at polling stations in the main elections," Mr. Whittal said.

The CHRAJ boss who was speaking at an event by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, Friday, June 26, also charged the EC to build consensus with all relevant stakeholders for a successful election.

"To avoid tension which will lead to conflict, there is a need for the EC to build consensus on key electoral issues of concern using the human right basic approach.

"If you read the Africa Union Election Observers report, you will see that clearly, they recommended for the state of Ghana that the EC puts in place strategies to give more access to the EC's decision-making process and formalize IPAC as a regular platform for issues of concern.

"This will strengthen participation with the major stakeholders. There are issues with IPAC, these issues are not political, they are human rights issues so if we have a system that has worked in the past we should look at how we will strengthen that system because that is the way to go."

Speaking on the theme “Independent Governance Institutions and the 2020 Elections in Ghana: Some reflections”, Mr. Joseph Whittal said his outfit will monitor instances of abuse of power by government appointees and other political players and stakeholders ahead of the December polls.

"Again, political appointees and public officials alike should refrain from abusing their power because incumbency is all about abuse of power during elections.

"So citizens must be active and able to report to the appropriate bodies including the Commission so we deal with disregards for the law."