It is now established that in spite of the hundreds of billions of cedis, donor support and intensive education that were invested in Ghana's bid to chart a new course for democracy, an appreciable chunk of the energy and resources soaked in is going waste.
For, records show that after 5.00 pm December 7, 2000; 11,458 ballot papers representing the voices of many in the Volta region who queued in the rain and sun that fateful day to play their civic role in the process of change through the ballot box were rejected by the Electoral Commission (EC).
A search conducted by Chronicle in the region indicated that in the parliamentary elections in the Nkwanta constituency alone 2,225 votes were declared not valid; with Krachi, Ketu North and South, North Tongu and Avenor following in that order.
The trend is considered disturbing when viewed from the fact that the total rejected votes is more than what were obtained by some Members of Parliament (MPs) in the region. For instance Dr. Daniel Kwame Ampofo of South Dayi and Emil Kwadzo Brantuo of Buem entered the noble house with 10,392 and 9,610 respectively.
When Chronicle contacted the regional director of the EC, Mr. Muhammed K. Addoquaye, for his views on the unfortunate trend, the regional boss gave a number of factors, saying his outfit had noticed the development and was equally concerned.
He mentioned illiteracy as the main cause and regretted that, in spite of the education in the communities prior to elections, people still make elementary mistakes when they get into the booth to cast their votes.
Mr. Addoquaye also blamed party agents for contributing to the problem. He said the EC, being aware of the level of education of the vast majority of the rural folk, made the laws flexible so that in a situation where a thumbprint falls within two boxes, the box with the larger area of the thumbprint should be given the benefit of the doubt.
However, party agents take entrenched positions and refuse to compromise, and so in such situations the controversial ballot paper is rejected - even though the voters' intentions may be very glaring.
In another interview, the electoral officer for Akatsi district, Mr. Johnson Akafia, said protest-voting was detected to be rampant in the region in the last elections. He revealed that some angry people and undecided voters deliberately thumbprinted more than once.
Mr. Akafia reminded voters that even though casting of votes is a civic responsibility for every Ghanaian, it is not compulsory. He observed that an individual would not be breaking any law if he or she, for personal reasons, decided not to vote and condemned the habit of protest-voting.
Commenting on other problems the regional director said the timing of budgetary approval and release of publicity materials are vital to the success of the entire exercise.
Mr. Addoquaye finally hinted that since two districts cannot be under one constituency, any new district the president creates automatically becomes a new constituency and asked the people to take note of that fact.
Currently the Volta region has 983,766 names in the voters register, with Ketu South leading with 86, 170, followed closely by North Tongu with 85,557.
And until the E.C. opens a new register later in the year as announced, the nearly one million eligible voters spread across the region need every form of guidance and assistance to make their votes valid in future elections. For assuming the picture is similar in other regions then some 120,000 votes stand to be rejected nationwide.
