NPP-Canada On The Voter Register Question

The question of the Voter Register for Election 2016 is one that must be answered without delay, one way or the other. And certainly without ambiguity.

In all the discussions thus far, it appears that the unassailable position across board is that the Voter Register, as it is presently, lacks credibility. The fundamental question then becomes one of: does the nation knowingly go into the 2016 Elections with a Voter Register that lacks or is deemed to lack credibility? By all indications, it appears that the sentiment or inclination of most Ghanaians, including the Political Parties, is for going into the elections with a credible Voter Register.

There appears to be at least two positions that most can agree on. These two positions are that:

1. The present Voter Register is not fit for the purposes of the 2016 Elections given the lack of credibility.

2. Something will have to be done to get to a point where the majority of Ghanaians are comfortable with the level of credibility of the Voter Register.

What has to be done? That appears to be the gnawing question at the present time stemming from Point 2 above.

Two schools of thought, indeed three schools of thought have assumed center-stage on the question of what must be done. These three are:

1. Do Nothing.

Proponents argue that the two major political parties are so incorrigibly prone to hanky-panky tendencies that there can never be a credible register anyway so why bother to do anything aimed at corrective or remedial measures?

2. Clean the existing register (whatever that entails).

3. Establish a new Voter Register.

Below are the views of NPP-Canada on the above three positions.

On the point of “Do Nothing”, the least said about such a defeatist and hapless view for the once-shining star of Africa, the better.

The fundamental flaw we see in the argument for cleaning or purging the existing register of corrupt data is that it presumes that the extent of the defects are known or can be determined at a cheaper cost and in a shorter time period than doing the register anew. In other words, we do not know, as a country, if the extent of corruption of the Voter Register is at an assessed level of 20% or 80% or any other percentage for that matter. And until this is known or has been determined by the Electoral Commission (EC), any suggestion of cleaning/purging the Register will be pre-mature at best. Needless to say, and as the saying goes, “if it cannot be measured, it cannot be managed”. Will it be prudent for the EC to spend time and lots of money to determine the extent of the data corruption which we all know exists, and after that spend even more resources to fix the defects if a cheaper alternative exists?

NPP-Canada has no cause to doubt that any new Voter Register will be an improvement over the current Register. There is a good chance that a new Voter Register can be implemented at a relatively cheaper cost than the reasonable alternative. While it may not be the cure for all ills or potential ills, a new Register can certainly be the medicine to keep viruses in a benign rather than a malignant state.

NPP-Canada hereby joins well-meaning calls to the Electoral Commission to implement a New Voter Register for the conduct of the 2016 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections.

----signed---

Gilbert Adu Gyimah

Director of Communications, NPP/Canada

NPPCanada@outlook.com

Tel: 587-708-9915 / 647-800-3585