Editorial by Ghanaian Times: EC can enhance Ghana’s democracy

Yesterday, the Electoral Commis­sion (EC) delivered another episode of its ‘Let the Citizen Know’ speech­es, this time to inform Gha­naians about the just-ended limited voter registration.

It is good to hear from the EC that it is satisfied with the conduct and outcome of the exercise.

The Commission explains that considering the restorable population of 1,350,000, it set a target of 700,000 and in the end, it captured 910,996, which is more than over 200,000 registra­tions.

The target was 52 percent of the restorable population whereas the actual of 910,996 now constitutes 67.48 percent.

It is clear that but for some factors like the refusal of some of the prospective voters to beat the deadline, even more persons would have been registered.

We are, however, happy that the EC has given all the assurance that no one prospective voter will be ex­cluded from registering.

We say this about its “Let the Citizen Know” episode of Sep­tember 11, 2023, the eve of the commencement of the 21-day limited voter registration that ended on October 2, in which it said although the target had been revised downwards, all eligible persons would have the opportunity to be registered before the 2024 general election.

It explained that the EC would undertake a continu­ous registration exercise at all its 268 district offices in 2024 for all eligible Ghana­ians to be captured in the register.

It added that after the current exercise, there would be a mop-up reg­istration for persons in hard-to-reach areas but this is where we have a question for the EC.

We know that those captured in the just-ended registration can vote in the upcoming district level elec­tions on December 19 and new registration cannot be done some 60 days before the elections.

Today is October 18, some 63 days to the time.

Can the EC educate the public as to how the mop-up registered voters will be treated or is it the case that the exercise is no longer important because the Commission has exceeded its target?

We are asking this question because we are very much aware of how some people can cause hullabaloo about this for political or other gain.

Despite the question we have raised, we are happy that the EC would undertake a continuous registration in 2024 for all eligible Ghanaians and so we believe that even if the mop-up is not done, qualified voters in those areas will eventually be captured.

The successful comple­tion of the registration adds to Ghana’s credentials as a peaceful country in that despite some noise raised about the limited voter registration, the exercise has passed the test.

Elections constitute a key element in democracy for they become the conduit for choosing a country’s leaders; yet elections can be thorns in the lives (flesh) of the people, particularly when a group of citizens decide to dispute them.

One of the sources of such disputes is the elector­al role, either viewed as hav­ing been bloated or having become lean because some people have been excluded from it.

We believe the success of the just-ended limited reg­istration is a demonstration of the resolve of the EC to promote inclusiveness and ensure integrity and efficiency in the registra­tion process and ultimately strengthen the credibility of elections in the country, as it promised in its ‘Let the Citizen Know’ episode of August 17, 2023.

And the whole country expects the Commission to live by its word.