EC must fix issue of double registration – Asamoah Gyamfi

A member of the communications team of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Asamoah Gyamfi, has called for a total rejection of the Electoral Commission (EC’s) proposition to daily register qualified voters saying the idea is rather porous and could pave way for disaster in the country if political parties accept it.

The EC is proposing daily registration as a means of addressing the challenges it faced during the voters’ registration exercise it held two years ago. The Commission is currently meeting with the media and interest groups in Accra to assess the 2012 voters register as well as the electoral process.

Chairman of the EC, Dr Kwadwo Afari Gyan added that CI 72 mandates the Commission to register prospective voters on continuous basis and to that effect, he said, the EC will soon announce when the daily registration process will begin but hinted it may begin next year.

But speaking to the issue on Okay FM’s Ghana Decides programme, Asamoah Gyamfi argued that the proposal is spongy stressing that the fundamental issue on the biometric machines which is supposed to prevent a bloated voters register has not been resolved.

According to him, significant revelation was made during the election petition that over 2 million people were detected to have engaged in double registration. He believed the EC’s proposal is simply a wasteful exercise which could deepen the woes of the country’s electoral system.

“…the proposal will make it difficult for the EC to deal with aliens who will join in the registration…the EC should soberly reflect on its intended decision especially after the Supreme Court advised them (EC) to put up proper measures to end election disputes in the country…

“I was scared when I heard the news about the daily registration and I wonder if the EC wants chaos to befall the country with its decision. Why can’t EC resolve the double registration issue before proceeding to another plan? For me, any political party that will support the course of EC to begin daily voter registration wants the country to collapse; already, the biometric machine is bogus including the data caption machines,” Asamoah Gyamfi said.