Barring any unpredictable hiccups, the Electoral Commission’s forum to discuss whether the country needs a new voter register or not will take centre stage tomorrow.

Various viewpoints from political parties, civil society and individuals are expected to be presented and debated.

A panel of five eminent Ghanaians have the task of moderating the process and collating the various positions for the final decision of the Electoral Commission.

Opposition New Patriotic Party has been at the forefront calling for a new register claiming the current one is bloated with foreigners. Groups such as Let My Vote Count Alliance (LMVCA) have also backed the call for a new electoral roll. LMVCA organized a demonstration last month to mount pressure on the EC.

The Coalition for the Defence of Equal Citizenship (CODEC) Wednesday organised a counter demonstration insisting the current register be maintained.

Ali Dawud who speaks for the group told Joy News Ghana does not need a new voters register.

The call by the NPP and other groups will “take us a century back… it is tangential and untenable”, he explained.

Since people working on the register are human, it is bound to have problems, he said, and suggested auditing of the register to correct any challenges was the better option.

The group’s position is shared by the governing NDC. It also admits the existing register has some challenges, but the way to go is auditing and not a new one.

Centre for Democratic Development, Ghana is one of the numerous groups who have sent their views on the voters register to the EC.

Dr. Franklin Oduro of CDD told Joy News since 1992 the electoral roll has been dogged with challenges and yet no solutions have been found to stop them from resurfacing.

He said the Centre hopes tomorrow’s forum will provide the opportunity for the country to resolve the recurring bottlenecks associated with Ghana’s register.

“It is our expectation that the forum would be the last time that as a country this will come up when going into election,” he said.

He urged participants to seize the opportunity to address all the problems related to the country’s register. This, he said, would ensure that the outcome of the forum would stand the test of time.

Even ahead of the forum, the New Patriotic Party has raised serious concerns about the composition of the 5-member panel constituted by the EC to hear the various views. The party is contesting the neutrality of three of the members – a retired judge, Justice VCRAC Crabbe, former moderator of the Methodist Church, Rev Dr Emmanuel Asante, and a computer scientist Dr Nii Narku Quainoo.

But, EC’s Public Affairs Director, Christian Owusu Parry has assured the process will be transparent and fair.