The Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) has admonished the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana against compiling Voter Registers from scratch going forward.

According to CODEO, to compile Voter Registers for subsequent elections, the EC is expected to work in partnership with the National Identification Authority (NIA) to create an integrated system for identifying existing voters as well as for registering qualified individuals who turn 18 years.

This decision was reached at a High-Level Post-Elections Stakeholders Review Workshop to assess the conduct of Ghana’s 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary elections.

The workshop, which followed similar ones by CODEO in the past, took place from April 26 to 28, 2021 at the Aqua Safari Resort in Ada in the Greater Accra Region.

Participants at the workshop included leaders and representatives from key election-related institutions including the EC, the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), the National Peace Council (NPC), the National Media Commission (NMC), the Ghana Police Service, the Judiciary, some political parties – i.e. the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the Convention People’s Party (CPP) and the Peoples’ National Convention (PNC), representatives from the media, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and academia.

At the end of the meeting, CODEO recommended that the NIA’s database be linked to that of the EC to create a harmonized system capable of replacing the process of compiling a new or limited voters’ register from time to time.

According to CODEO, it will prevent the need for a completely new Voters Register and make the process of registering new Voters easier and much faster.

To ensure transparency and accountability, “the EC should engage political parties and other key stakeholders including CSOs every step of the way towards the harmonization of the EC and NIA systems.”

CODEO also urged the EC to “initiate the necessary legal processes to amend regulations on the registration of voters to back the processes for the integration of the EC data with the NIA in adherence to Article 45 of the 1992 Constitution.”