Flawed Voters Register: Is Dr Bawumia/NPP being Deceptive?

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"Koku" 10 years ago

Obviously what you wrote is very logical, but it would not appeal to the NPP simply because it would not fit their preconceived model of hatred towards the Ewes.

Obviously what you wrote is very logical, but it would not appeal to the NPP simply because it would not fit their preconceived model of hatred towards the Ewes.
Kojo T 10 years ago

Very objective analysis .Well done Kofi you beat me to it

Very objective analysis .Well done Kofi you beat me to it
Mahmoud 10 years ago

Mr. Kofi, could you still remember that the P/NDC party with the endorsement of former EC boss used fake indelible ink for elections in 1992 and 1996, which was part of the rigging mechanism for stealing verdicts until proper ...
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Mr. Kofi, could you still remember that the P/NDC party with the endorsement of former EC boss used fake indelible ink for elections in 1992 and 1996, which was part of the rigging mechanism for stealing verdicts until proper indelible ink was secured for the country in 2000 by Craig Murray? We are yet to see what the new EC would do to further deepen democracy in our country to ensure free and fair elections because; actions speak louder than words.

Contrary to what the discredited former EC Chairman said, there are many examples of how elections are rigged far away from polling stations, and the corrupted voters' register could be used to rig elections, remarkably, when "no verification no vote" has been eliminated. We believe that NDC is again preparing to rig the elections through the old bloated voters' register, and Asiedu Nketia is fighting to keep the loophole intact, despite the fact that the Supreme Court recommended a new voters' register and all the other parties support it except, of course, the NDC party. NDC is resisting any attempt to compile a new voter's register or weed out the illegal names because they are con-men with con plans.
G. K. Berko 10 years ago

Mahmoud, what changes were done to the Voters' Register to allow Kufuor win fairly and square, for two consecutive terms? And was the Register any different then from what was used in the Elections that saw Mills win?

What ...
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Mahmoud, what changes were done to the Voters' Register to allow Kufuor win fairly and square, for two consecutive terms? And was the Register any different then from what was used in the Elections that saw Mills win?

What Kofi pointed out must be accepted by all NPP, NDC, CPP, PPP and other Parties' members, if real accurate Register is needed. His questions were right on the money.

Besides, Bawumia and Akufo-Addo targeting our border with Togo alone suggests a certain subtle insulting implication that folks from that area around that border are the only folks who may be engaging in illegal dual registration, assuming that all dual registrations are outright illegal.

Meanwhile, Kofi, logically showed how likely some of the voters claimed by Bawumia to have appeared in both Countries' voters' Register may have dual Citizenship in both countries and might be legible to vote in them.

The Voters' Register may have to be reviewed and purged of invalid registration or completely recreated, especially for ensuring the deceased names are purged and new voters who have just come of age to vote are registered.

But to claim that only the possibility of illegal voters from Togo alone justifies such a new Register is wrong. There may be other Nationals living elsewhere in the Country who are not eligible to vote but find their names in the Register. Those must also be a concern to anyone who wants fairness and expects a correct set of data to support our Elections.

Long Live Ghana!!!
Yaw Ohemeng 10 years ago

Dr Bawumia gave four bases upon which he thought the register was flawed. The presence of foreign nationals was only one of them. Did you also hear of scanned photos instead of live digital photos? Did you also hear of the EC ...
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Dr Bawumia gave four bases upon which he thought the register was flawed. The presence of foreign nationals was only one of them. Did you also hear of scanned photos instead of live digital photos? Did you also hear of the EC itself saying that there are lots of minors on the register but that it is 'powerless' to remove them?

When an objective evidence is given, the only way to rebut, is to use same.

By the way Togo does not recognise dual citizenship.
Wo paa 10 years ago

TOGO

CITIZENSHIP: Citizenship is administered through the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Security, and the Ministry of Justice.

BY BIRTH: Birth with the territory of Togo does not automatically confer citi ...
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TOGO

CITIZENSHIP: Citizenship is administered through the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Security, and the Ministry of Justice.

BY BIRTH: Birth with the territory of Togo does not automatically confer citizenship.

BY DESCENT: Child of a Togolese father, regardless of the child's country of birth. Child of a Togolese mother and an unknown father, regardless of the child's country of birth.

MARRIAGE: A foreign citizen who marries a citizen of Togo may register for citizenship.

BY NATURALIZATION: Togolese citizenship may be acquired upon fulfillment of the following conditions: Person has legally resided in Togo for at least five years and has no criminal record.

DUAL CITIZENSHIP: RECOGNIZED.

LOSS OF CITIZENSHIP:

VOLUNTARY: Voluntary renunciation of Togolese citizenship is permitted by law. The person must either write a letter to the proper Ministry in Togo or return to Togo and personally enter the petition for loss of citizenship. The Togolese Embassy may render assistance, but cannot act as a representative for the person.

Person should not assume that loss of citizenship is automatic or guaranteed.

INVOLUNTARY: There are no grounds for involuntary loss of Togolese citizenship.

ANY QUESTIONS concerning citizenship, or requests for renunciation of citizenship, should be directed to the address below:

Embassy of the Republic of Togo Consular Section 2208 Massachusetts Ave., NW Washington, DC 20008

Embassy/Consular Telephone: 202-234-4212/13 Fax: 202-232-3190
Yaw Ohemeng 10 years ago

The source you took this information from warned that it is not current and should not be relied upon and you failed to qualify your post with that disclaimer?

The source you took this information from warned that it is not current and should not be relied upon and you failed to qualify your post with that disclaimer?
Okonko Palm 10 years ago

Do you want to rebut what the commentator said with a more authentic fact if you have one.It is not satisfactory to say there was a disclaimer because disclaimers are used just in case there may be a change in the facts since ...
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Do you want to rebut what the commentator said with a more authentic fact if you have one.It is not satisfactory to say there was a disclaimer because disclaimers are used just in case there may be a change in the facts since constitutions are living things subject to changes,so if you have current one lets see it.

What the comment said is what I also know as the facts.Togo allows dual citizenship,you can become a Togolese by naturalization and by birth or parental link.Don't present here a figment of your imagination,we talking facts.
Yaw Ohemeng 10 years ago

He took the information from multiple citizenship.com. There is a disclaimer at the top of the page that should alert him to the fact that the info may not be accurate.

Togo narrowly accepts that spouses of women can appl ...
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He took the information from multiple citizenship.com. There is a disclaimer at the top of the page that should alert him to the fact that the info may not be accurate.

Togo narrowly accepts that spouses of women can apply to be citizens but lose them if they take on any other citizenship. It does not make room for any other type. That is why on their voters register, they also record parent information. It is to ensure that both parents are Togolese. They do not offer citizenship to even children whose mothers are citizens but fathers are non-Togolese v

Anyone who employs foul language in a debate is in a weaker position.
Wo paai 10 years ago

I do not want to be rude but go and fuck yourself.Your nonsense disclaimer is no where on this fucking site.

I do not want to be rude but go and fuck yourself.Your nonsense disclaimer is no where on this fucking site.

SARPONG 10 years ago

Kofi Ata, your argument is also flawed because it is not based on facts but assumptions. You based it on Supreme court ruling in the Kofi Asare versus the Attorney General case ruling of may 22nd 2012 and I quote below;

...
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Kofi Ata, your argument is also flawed because it is not based on facts but assumptions. You based it on Supreme court ruling in the Kofi Asare versus the Attorney General case ruling of may 22nd 2012 and I quote below;

"If the over 76,000 identified on Ghana’s voters register and also on that of Togo are dual citizens of Ghana, then by the Supreme Court ruling in the case of Prof Stephen Kwaku Asare versus The Attroney General given on May 22, 2012, there is no law in Ghana that prohibits Ghanaian dual citizens living abroad from registering in Ghana and voting in Ghana"

The important word in the quotation above is the first word "IF". Knowing you Kofi, you usually research on things of this nature before writing.

1. Why didn't you find out if there is a dual citizenship law in Ghana between Ghana and Togo?

2. Even if there is a dual citizenship in play here, don't you think the number of over 76,000 people with dual citizenship who have registered to vote in both countries is too high? Don't forget, the 76,000 is not even all the Togolese who have dual citizenship with Ghana even if that law exist that are registered since only about 60% on average of qualified voters who actually register to vote so we are talking about 130,000 or more People holding Togo and Ghana citizenship not counting minors that could shoot the numbers to 200,000.

3. Why is that all these voters have their pictures scanned in instead of going to the registration centers to have their pictures taken? IT SEEMS TO ME IF THAT IS TRUE THEIR PICTURES WERE SCANNED IN, THEN MOST OF THESE PEOPLE MIGHT NOT EVEN BE AWARE THEY HAVE BEEN REGISTERED IN Ghana.

4. With the argument you are advancing here, then anybody can register here in Ghana and claim a dual citizenship status.

5. Your argument that in England even a student on a one year visa can register to vote there should not have found a space in your article since I can also tell you that in USA even people with GREEN CARD, permanent residents who have live in USA for decades cannot even vote and if you vote with only a green card, that will prevent you for ever becoming a citizen of USA and also can lead to your deportation.
Kofi Ata, Cambridge, UK 10 years ago

Good afternoon, SARPONG. Let me attempt to respond to the questions you raised in your contribution.

First, I did point out that I am only interested in what is applicable in Ghana and not Togo. That is, if Ghanaian laws a ...
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Good afternoon, SARPONG. Let me attempt to respond to the questions you raised in your contribution.

First, I did point out that I am only interested in what is applicable in Ghana and not Togo. That is, if Ghanaian laws allow dual citizenship to register and vote in Ghana, then dual citizens of Ghana and Togo can do so. Even if Togo does not allow her dual citizens to register and vote in the second country and some Togolese do so in Ghana it is not illegal or a crime in Ghana. It only becomes a illegal or a crime in Togo and that is a matter for the Togolese authorities.

I used the Prof Stephen Kwaku Asare versus the Attorney General case because that case affirmed the prohibition of Ghanaian dual citizens from holding certain public offices including being an MP but did not prohibit dual citizens from exercising their right to register and vote.

I believe on you second question, I made mention of other dual citizens from Europe and USA registering and voting in Ghana as well as their country of residence and therefore there being similar double registration. However, I added that such double registration would be in hundreds and not in tens of thousands as in the case of the alleged Togolese. That means I also had concern about the huge numbers except my concerns are that I do not believe the Dr Bawumia's figures. Again, I will refer to the huge figure NPP gave as Ghanaians abroad who registered and voted during the 2012 elections. Sadly, the huge figure NPP put out disappeared into thin air at the Supreme Court. This could be a similar story.

From the pictures I saw, there is no evidence to suggest that those on the Ghanaian register were scanned pictures. So for me I take that claim with caution and treat it as unreliable. In fact, the Togolese pictures look more suspicious than those of the Ghanaians. I need more prove than just hearing it from Dr Bawumia because he proved to be unreliable in December 2012 when he relied on pink sheets to make claims that turned out to be false. Moreover, the EC has the originals of the voters register so it's the EC that can confirm or deny if the pictures were scanned or not.

On point 4, I believe I used the word "if" they are dual citizens. That means they must qualify to be Ghanaian citizens as defined by Ghanaian law.

On point 5, I used the example to support my argument that if Bawumia and NPP carried out the same exercise between Ghana and UK or USA, it will come out that there are British as well as Ghanaian citizens in the UK who are on both voters registers of Ghana and the UK or USA because some are dual citizens of Ghana and UK/USA. If that is the case, would Dr Bawumia and NPP make similar claims that Ghanaian's voter register is flawed because there are British citizens who are on both Ghana and UK/USA voters register?

I also used the example to indicate that different countries have different laws/rules regarding who can and cannot register to vote. In other words, Togolese with dual Ghanaian citizenship could register and vote in Ghana even if they cannot do so in Togo.
KELLICS 10 years ago

I salute you.Good Analysis!Good thinking!This time around,you have my support for this amazing presentations.this how we should use education........a step in the right direction.

I salute you.Good Analysis!Good thinking!This time around,you have my support for this amazing presentations.this how we should use education........a step in the right direction.
Okonko Palm 10 years ago

The Bawumiah analysis and wild statements and conclusions may be forgiven because he displays a weird sense of judgement in legal matters.

Even though you don't have to be a lawyer to understand simple legal questions, Aku ...
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The Bawumiah analysis and wild statements and conclusions may be forgiven because he displays a weird sense of judgement in legal matters.

Even though you don't have to be a lawyer to understand simple legal questions, Akuffo is a lawyer and sat there whilst Bawumiah makes a mockery of himself thereby raising the bigotry claims against the npp.

My understanding is that the people of the volta region feel insulted and they are very annoyed.Is bawumia, the Akuffo lap dog's subservience to his master now getting out of control.We know he is Akufo's ventriloquist dummy but this time he is gone too far.

Finally may I add that Ghanaians don't even need to have a dual nationality in UK to be an eligible voter.The only requirement is that you are a resident from a commonwealth country.So Ghanaians who are not British citizens have their names in the voters register in UK as well as that of Ghana.

If I may quote the requirements in the UK "To vote in a UK general election a person must be registered to vote and also: be 18 years of age or over on polling day. be a British citizen, a qualifying Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of the Republic of Ireland. not be subject to any legal incapacity to vote".
towei 10 years ago

thanks kofi

thanks kofi
Mike frm Ho. 10 years ago

If Nana Addo and the NPP are intelligent enough and want votes from the Volta Region, they are the last group of people to be pointing accusing fingers at the people from the region. But that is NPP for you.

If Nana Addo and the NPP are intelligent enough and want votes from the Volta Region, they are the last group of people to be pointing accusing fingers at the people from the region. But that is NPP for you.
Yaw Ohemeng 10 years ago

Why quote the UK to buttress the point you are making in matters relating to Ghana? Different countries have different citizenship rules and different rules on those who may vote.

In the UK, some foreign citizens may vote ...
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Why quote the UK to buttress the point you are making in matters relating to Ghana? Different countries have different citizenship rules and different rules on those who may vote.

In the UK, some foreign citizens may vote in general elections, whilst they are not qualified to vote in european elections.

Togo for instance, does not recognise dual citizenship. Hence no persons can be on the both the Ghana and Togo register. It was in very recent times that Ghana accepted that dual citizens.

Bawumia has raised an issue. If they mean nothing, let us come to this with opposing evidence. We are a country where scrutiny is a dirty word. It's not suprprising we find ourselves in a mess. We do not create information, we do not share information that we have and we do not like objectively interrogating information either.
Danny 10 years ago

Bawumia is the most useless character with the PhD title! .He is rather an illiterate literate.That was exactly how he misled the NPP & threw dust into the eyes of Ghanaians with the pink sheet nonsense in 2012,all because a ...
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Bawumia is the most useless character with the PhD title! .He is rather an illiterate literate.That was exactly how he misled the NPP & threw dust into the eyes of Ghanaians with the pink sheet nonsense in 2012,all because a Mr Akuffo Addo wants to be president at all cost,as if the Ghanaian presidency is of inheritance! .Nonsense supreme! .Bawumia is just full of deceit & very diabolic,confirming the character & nature of the Danquah/Busia tradition!
Lexus 10 years ago

"....Many of the pics.....not taken in a live environment but rather scanned from existing pictures and documents"

No playig to the gallery here!!!

"....Many of the pics.....not taken in a live environment but rather scanned from existing pictures and documents"

No playig to the gallery here!!!
Korang 10 years ago

Lexus, "tu as raison" that is the point of the NPP submission, "scanned IDs" in our electoral rolls. Some of our so-called compatriots know only to sit on their duffs all day then pop up to set their own version of the questi ...
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Lexus, "tu as raison" that is the point of the NPP submission, "scanned IDs" in our electoral rolls. Some of our so-called compatriots know only to sit on their duffs all day then pop up to set their own version of the question and then proceed to answer. Wrong, Mr

Nana Yaw, Boston, USA 10 years ago

Your argument is neither here nor there! Why are you NDC communicators talking about only Togo and Volta region? There is more evidence coming from Burkina and North and Cote D'Ivoire and Western. Stop the vile propaganda!

Your argument is neither here nor there! Why are you NDC communicators talking about only Togo and Volta region? There is more evidence coming from Burkina and North and Cote D'Ivoire and Western. Stop the vile propaganda!
Kofi Ata, Cambridge, UK 10 years ago

Nana Yaw, instead of putting forward counter argument, all you did is to call me NDC Communicator. Why do you think my argument is neither here nor there? I only raised one reason why Dr Bawumia and NPP are wrong. There are o ...
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Nana Yaw, instead of putting forward counter argument, all you did is to call me NDC Communicator. Why do you think my argument is neither here nor there? I only raised one reason why Dr Bawumia and NPP are wrong. There are others that make their case very weak and even dangerous.

Have you asked yourself why the so-called Togolese voter register persons do not have names or addresses? Why did they show photos of Togolese voters and not those from other neighbouring countries? Have you asked yourself why Bawumia/NPP did not just make the efforts to take a sample of the over 70,000 double registered individuals on Ghana's voters register and check their addresses and identities to establish whether they exist as Ghanaians or not before coming out publicly?

Does it occur to you that what Dr Bawumia/NPP did could strain relations between Ghana and her neighbours?

And yet, you call me names instead of putting your views across. Dr Bawumia and NPP can fool some of the people such as you but not all the people. Remember, Dr Bawumia and NPP did a similar thing with pink sheets in December 2102 at a press conference just before they filed the petition at the Supreme Court and what happened?

I am not suggesting that Ghana's voters register is perfect. There is no perfect voters register but a national party waiting to form the next government should be clever in dealing with such matters. You do not obtain the voters register of a sovereign country and accused their nationals of registering in Ghana without first contacting their respective governments or missions. Have a nice day and learn how to argue without calling those you disagree names.
DusTY-FooT-pHiloSophER 10 years ago

Thank you, Kofi. In your post above your repeated one question that I posted to them and still waiting for the answer and the magic question was, if after their infamous supreme court fiasco they could only draw together this ...
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Thank you, Kofi. In your post above your repeated one question that I posted to them and still waiting for the answer and the magic question was, if after their infamous supreme court fiasco they could only draw together this so-called anomalies from only the Voltarian voters registry, then how much time do they need to compile the likes of the Burkinabes storming in from the north, the Ivorians crossing from both Brong Ahafo and western, the Nigerians travelling in and making Ghana their home, The Liberian refugee now given status to stay, the Indians, Lebanese and many other waving Ghanaian passport about?

The fact is, Kofi, there is no NPP list covering what is obviously widespread, but a list, mischievously done, to alienate a particular region to simply disenfranchise a group of people. Throughout my young age and under the roof of my Fanti parents, never once did they teach us to hate thy neighbours, tribe, their culture and ways of others and my siblings and I grew up having uncountable friend a yard full.

So Kofi, I get all "Jiggy- Gagga" when some people, so screwed-up upstairs, starts to make such belief their mission and of course, their only job to discriminate based on some ancient traditions and bogus unproven ancestral history.
C.Y. ANDY-K 10 years ago

Kofi,

Thanks for adding some meat to your article. You asked some of the qs some us have been wondering whether answers already exist for them. There is so much unadulterated nonsense coming out of Ghana some of us had dec ...
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Kofi,

Thanks for adding some meat to your article. You asked some of the qs some us have been wondering whether answers already exist for them. There is so much unadulterated nonsense coming out of Ghana some of us had decided to ignore as much as possible.

As you know, this current furor/e is simply an elevation of the perennial NPP claim that Togolese have been voting for the NDC. The new angle is that they have come out with some dubious "facts" to support their claim.

In my opinion, it'd be a serious disservice to the peoples of the VR and Togo if this obvious slander is brushed under the carpet by the EC and the NDC regime and party. It is in the interest of the NDC to prove to all and sundry that the NPP has been targeting Ewes in the VR on pourely ethnocentric grounds as they have been claiming, and some of us have abundant evidence to support and have been saying over the decades. I know that you are uncomfortable with the ethnocentric angle but when the shit hits the ceiling, no one is guaranteed safety from the smear.

It is so easy to verify that evidence they claim to have. As you asked, did they take a sample of even 1% to xcheck to see if, indeed, they are Togolese?

Andy-K
Nokware_ Asa 10 years ago

Fast and Loose with numbers, Bawumiah has NO CO-EQUAL! A 'consummate' HOUDINI, he has a penchant for letting the same set of figures, tell completely different stories!
His 'problem' though is that, he has no not figured out ...
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Fast and Loose with numbers, Bawumiah has NO CO-EQUAL! A 'consummate' HOUDINI, he has a penchant for letting the same set of figures, tell completely different stories!
His 'problem' though is that, he has no not figured out a way to conceal his motives for indulging in the 'Voodoo Statistics', he has now become noted for.
I am really surprised NPP self-described Analysts like Gabby, have not had the courage to subject any of his shoddy 'research' projects to in-house peer review audits; thus causing their party all these huge public embarrassments!
I am not too sure many of his fmr. colleagues at places like Simon Fraser U, will be amused by any of the 'statistical gimmicks',[outright fraud/ deception in my book], he has perpetrated in recent times!
Let`s face it, how does the NPP expect to fight for, and win a decent slice of the Volta vote with such a preposterous presentation?
Ata Kofi is right; this whole thing is simply a re-enactment of their petition 'disaster' of two years ago. what a waste of everybody`s time!
Kwogana (Toronto ) 10 years ago

Members of the NPP talk by heart.It's a shame that some highly educated people in politics reason as if they have never seen the inside of a class room.This party disgusts me.

Members of the NPP talk by heart.It's a shame that some highly educated people in politics reason as if they have never seen the inside of a class room.This party disgusts me.
K.K 10 years ago

From the trend of the political analysis of the voters register conducted before the elections in 2012 by the Npp and their solution (new voters register for the 2016 elections) to the problems involved that the registration ...
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From the trend of the political analysis of the voters register conducted before the elections in 2012 by the Npp and their solution (new voters register for the 2016 elections) to the problems involved that the registration is full of minor and/or swollen with other nations could be seen as a frational part of the solution to the many electoral difficulties the country is facing. A national debate involving the active participation of Ghanaians living abroad could bring us nearer to the solution of the problems because many Ghanaians in the diaspora have the chance to know how the system in the various countries operate and it's a great experience which could benefit Ghana.
The other alternative would be to rely on the birth and death registry in the various commonities in Ghana for the registration of voters as wellas the cleaning of it.
Concern Ghanaian 10 years ago

Kofi this time round, you have taken the wind out their sail. Why always the Volta region? That's the serious question every civil minded being is asking.Why do they hate the people of the Volta region to such extended? Now, ...
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Kofi this time round, you have taken the wind out their sail. Why always the Volta region? That's the serious question every civil minded being is asking.Why do they hate the people of the Volta region to such extended? Now, a novice like Bawumia is telling the people of the region that they are foreigners. What a dangerous thing to say against a whole region? Is that how far Bawumia could stoop so low because he wants to be a vice president? Is the volta region the only one that shares border with even let's say,Togo? there are towns in the north that equally shared border with Togo but they narrow it to only the Volta region. In order to polish their wicked acts against the people of the Volta region to make it acceptable, they intentionally included the Brong Ahafo region but failed to mention a single name from there. Akufo Addo is bent to destroy this peaceful country but he will fail and his disgraceful end will come. What a character ! Why always the Volta region?
CORNEY 10 years ago

Stop arguments in favor of the NDC as usual! Dual citizens? How can the Togolese be dual citizens in Ghana when they are not Ghanaians!

Stop arguments in favor of the NDC as usual! Dual citizens? How can the Togolese be dual citizens in Ghana when they are not Ghanaians!
Kwabena Erzoah 10 years ago

Corney,
Kofi came up with analysis with acceptable and meaningful arguments to conclude. Do we have Nigerians with genuine Ghanaian Passports in Ghana? We heard and read about all this on the news. Let us be objective and t ...
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Corney,
Kofi came up with analysis with acceptable and meaningful arguments to conclude. Do we have Nigerians with genuine Ghanaian Passports in Ghana? We heard and read about all this on the news. Let us be objective and try to avoid political afilliations sympathy.

Baba Sule 10 years ago

What this foolish man Akufo Addo is doing together with his npp tribal party against the good people of the Volta region is a recipe to perpetrate genocide against them, should they come to power. What has the Voltarians done ...
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What this foolish man Akufo Addo is doing together with his npp tribal party against the good people of the Volta region is a recipe to perpetrate genocide against them, should they come to power. What has the Voltarians done against Akufo Addo and his surrogates? May the Gods of the entire region strike this useless and hopeless denture smelling wee smoker dead. As for Bawumia, he is a clown donkey who is being remote by the npp. Why are they not doing all these things themselves but you mother fucker foolish Mamprusi clown donkey? why always the Volta region npp? Ghana wold be a better place without these characters. Has the foolish Akufo Addo shown us his law certificate yet? What about the drill ship? Useless good for nothing old man
Kwabena Erzoah 10 years ago

Uncle Kofi Ata of Cambridge, Thank you for your piece and analysis. I find it very educating as I could not be that articulate. Ghana borders do not have physical 'Berlin Wall' structure for that matter no where in the Africa ...
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Uncle Kofi Ata of Cambridge, Thank you for your piece and analysis. I find it very educating as I could not be that articulate. Ghana borders do not have physical 'Berlin Wall' structure for that matter no where in the Africa continent. Even post divisions, partitions and scrambles borders are just lines in the sand. I agree with you on all the grounds you raised concentrating on Ghana. Who can say that in the heart of the national capital Accra and other regional capitals there are no dual citizens who are allowed to vote both in their countries of domicile and countries of birth? Of course there are but that does give grounds for a new voters register. Johnson Asiedu Nketia said yesterday on Joy News that, there are processes (tools) in place therefore use them to resolve the issue if you can substantiate them. He went on to say " we use formulas to generate answers and not answers to generate formulas". Therefore team NPP must indeed answer the questions in your analysis if they want to make a credible argument. But for now all else is a fallacy. I dread the uprising of fragmentation of Ghana because the implicated regions will agitate if the focus is not neutralised. I am a Ghanaian from Nzema (my mum from the Ivory Coast and my dad from Ghana, both villages on the border. I cross whenever I feel like and there is no difference in people. They speak the same language/dialect. What do I do in my case?) therefore do not want to suffer from the symptons of 'aclaimed-and-the-only-superior-party-syndrome' which the NPP is potraying. Enough.
Constable Joy 10 years ago

NPP IS DOOMED AND SUNK.NO POLICY PARTY.THEY MADE A SAD JUDGEMENT.THIS WILL LEAD TO THEIR TOTAL FALL.ALL THE REGIONAL CAPITALS ARE AWAKE.FOR INTER-MIXED RELATIONSHIP WOULD SURELY PUT A BRAKE ON THEIR ILL-CONCEIVED AGENDA.

NPP IS DOOMED AND SUNK.NO POLICY PARTY.THEY MADE A SAD JUDGEMENT.THIS WILL LEAD TO THEIR TOTAL FALL.ALL THE REGIONAL CAPITALS ARE AWAKE.FOR INTER-MIXED RELATIONSHIP WOULD SURELY PUT A BRAKE ON THEIR ILL-CONCEIVED AGENDA.
Tony 10 years ago

This foolish old man should give us peace in this country.He should go to court again and be made the president. A hopeless useless fake lawyer. Your end is here. you want to destroy Ghana. you will be destroyed first. A wee ...
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This foolish old man should give us peace in this country.He should go to court again and be made the president. A hopeless useless fake lawyer. Your end is here. you want to destroy Ghana. you will be destroyed first. A wee smoker with a smelling denture
Kwapps 10 years ago

Kofi Ata, you have the luxury any time something is amiss in Ghana or Africa to compare our situation with the west. I'm sorry but what you are comfortably living in there is the result of generations of fine tuning. Their sy ...
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Kofi Ata, you have the luxury any time something is amiss in Ghana or Africa to compare our situation with the west. I'm sorry but what you are comfortably living in there is the result of generations of fine tuning. Their system has become such that they find the way and means to correct any anomalies that pop up from time to time.
In Ghana, there are so many things flawed in the system you are found wanting where to begin. The NPP have detected a wide gaping hole in the electoral system, which ought to have been the responsibility of the EC, and all you can come up to counter this claim is that the offenders are dual citizens. If the NPP do not have a case what makes you think you do? Have you stopped to think why the NDC are vehemently opposed to and coming up with frivolous excuses everyday? The beneficiaries of any given situation are usually the ones who put up the most resistance when changes are mentioned.
The current register has all the hallmarks of having been tampered with so the call to overhaul it or change it is a good call. Don't stand in the way of progress.
Kofi Ata, Cambridge, UK 10 years ago

Kwapps, I am only pointing out that Dr Bawumai and Nana Akufo-Addo did not do a good job and what they put out is not credible. I am not defending NDC and in my opinion NDC and NPP are no different. Both say the same thing wh ...
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Kwapps, I am only pointing out that Dr Bawumai and Nana Akufo-Addo did not do a good job and what they put out is not credible. I am not defending NDC and in my opinion NDC and NPP are no different. Both say the same thing when in opposition and do the same thing when in government. They are both unreasonable and only interested in holding onto or gaining political power for themselves.
SARPONG 10 years ago

Kofi, you cannot say what Dr Bawumiah put out here is not credible when you don'teven know if there is a dual citizenship law in Ghana that allows one to be a citizenship of both Togo and Ghana.

You have not been able to f ...
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Kofi, you cannot say what Dr Bawumiah put out here is not credible when you don'teven know if there is a dual citizenship law in Ghana that allows one to be a citizenship of both Togo and Ghana.

You have not been able to find an answer as to why all these 76,000 people pictures were scanned in instead of the normal pictures taken at the registration centers.

I would have like for Dr. Bawumiah though to have tried to contact some of these people at their addresses given and interview some of them as to why they are registered in both Ghana and Togo.
Kofi Ata, Cambridge, UK 10 years ago

SARPONG, I believe you know that dual means citizen of two countries. Ghana allows dual citizenship and it should not be between Ghana and another country. Other countries determine their own immigration and nationality or na ...
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SARPONG, I believe you know that dual means citizen of two countries. Ghana allows dual citizenship and it should not be between Ghana and another country. Other countries determine their own immigration and nationality or naturalisation laws. For example, I consider myself to be a dual citizen of Ghana and UK because both Ghana and UK allows her citizens to have dual citizenship and I meet the criteria for both. It's not because there is an agreement between Ghana and UK to allow their citizens to hold dual citizenship of each.
Anokye Twum-Antwi 10 years ago

Kwapps, you are attacking the messenger instead of the very valid message that he has. Kofi Atta did not state that the alleged 76,000 or so voters are dual citizens. What he stated was that, assuming the names on the list we ...
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Kwapps, you are attacking the messenger instead of the very valid message that he has. Kofi Atta did not state that the alleged 76,000 or so voters are dual citizens. What he stated was that, assuming the names on the list were the same people, there could still be the possibility that such people or at least some of them could be dual nationals. Kofi Atta also acknowledged the possibility that there are flaws in the electoral register, but there is no perfect electoral register anywhere in the world. Would Kofi Atta's argument be more valid or relevant if he lived in Africa? The selective nature of the NPP's current homework is what rankles - and the presentation by Nana Addo and Dr Bawumiah is neither smart nor well researched. They seem to thrive on bringing huge volumes of accusations hoping that quantity will, somehow, win the argument. The nation is still paying for the pink sheet fiasco. The only quantities that matter are votes and not baseless arguments.
Menua Kwadwo 10 years ago

Dr. Bawumia has stated facts about the anomalies on the register, and you are here making assumptions: "assuming the names on the list were the same people, there could still be the possibility that such people or at least so ...
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Dr. Bawumia has stated facts about the anomalies on the register, and you are here making assumptions: "assuming the names on the list were the same people, there could still be the possibility that such people or at least some of them could be dual nationals"
Owusu 10 years ago

Kofi, bear in mind, unlike UK the Netherlands does not allow dual nationality.You cannot have a Dutch passport and a Ghanaian one.The vast majority of NPP supporters in the Netherlands who hold Dutch passports enter Ghana as ...
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Kofi, bear in mind, unlike UK the Netherlands does not allow dual nationality.You cannot have a Dutch passport and a Ghanaian one.The vast majority of NPP supporters in the Netherlands who hold Dutch passports enter Ghana as tourists.If they have to register in Ghana on the basis of using passports as prove of ID they would be disqualified.The Ghanaian government does not even stamp their Dutch passports with "right of abode".Personally I do not care about politics but I can confidently expose a lot of NPP supporters with big mouths who fall under this category in Kumasi.
Yaw Ohemeng 10 years ago

As usual you employ strong words to destroy a line of argument that may be worth pursuing.

I do not think Dr Bawumia sought to deceive. In your article you have expressed doubts about the register. If one were to found com ...
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As usual you employ strong words to destroy a line of argument that may be worth pursuing.

I do not think Dr Bawumia sought to deceive. In your article you have expressed doubts about the register. If one were to found common names and photographs in the register of neighbouring countries, against this backdrop of doubt, they are worth pointing out.

The NPP gave their deatiled evidence to the EC. They alone (i.e. the EC) can adequately address the concerns. What the NPP presented calls for investigations, if not for anything, to set minds at rest if it turns out that those people have the right to vote in Ghana. What is dangerous is to let the doubts (which you also hold) to linger.

There are several categories of dual citizenship. Prof. Asare's case was to deal with the innate discrimination of those who take up additional citizenships. That is the barring of this category of dual citizens from holding certain public posts and the requirement for dual citizens to undergo registration. Even with that, one is still required to provide evidence of citizenship when challenged. The case had nothing to do with voting by dual citizens.

The last point is that you have only looked at citizenship from the Ghanaian perspective. Does Togo recognise dual citizenship such that these people can be on both registers? I urge you to find this out before you label someone as being 'deceptive'.
Kofi Ata, Cambridge, UK 10 years ago

Dr Yaw Ohemeng, I guess you are referring to the words "deception, mischievous and fallacy of hasty conclusion". They are not strong words and if they were, it's probably due to my disappointment in Dr Bawumia, Nana Akufo-Add ...
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Dr Yaw Ohemeng, I guess you are referring to the words "deception, mischievous and fallacy of hasty conclusion". They are not strong words and if they were, it's probably due to my disappointment in Dr Bawumia, Nana Akufo-Addo and the NPP intellectuals. My views is that they could have done better than this.

That is they could have taken a sample of the 70,000 names on the Ghanaian register and visit them at the addresses on the register to establish if, indeed these people really existed and second whether they are Ghanaians or not.

Again, to have avoided this accusation of being ethnocentric, could they not have repeated the same exercise in the border areas of Western, Brong Ahafo and Upper East regions and provided comparative figures rather than just concentrate on Volta region?

NPP claims it wants to increase its share of vote from Volta region in 2016. Is this how to achieve that objective?

I actaully do not believe Dr Bawumia's figures and claims because similar claims of huge figures on the number Ghanaians abroad who voted in the 2012 presidential elections were made by Dr Bawumia and NPP which turned out to be false. Again, he and his party claimed huge figures on pink sheets they had identified massive fraud but when they went to the Supreme Court, the numbers reduced substantially.

I agree with you that it's only the EC that can confirm or deny the claims by Dr Bawumia and NPP because they have the originals of the voters register. We shall wait for the EC's response.

I referred to the Prof Asare versus the Attorney General case because it is relevant. That case also affirmed the prohibition of Ghanaian dual citizen from holding certain public offices but it did not prohibit Ghanaian dual citizens from registering and exercising their right to vote.

I also agree with you that dual Ghanaian citizenship has some qualification criteria and that is why I used the words "if they are dual citizens.

On your last point, I did indicate that I was interested in Ghana and not Togo. This is because if Ghanaian laws allow her dual citizens to register and vote, then it's irrelevant what the Togolese laws say. In other words, if a dual citizen of Ghana and Togo registers and votes in Ghana, s/he has done nothing wrong in Ghana. However, Togo does not allow her dual citizens to register and vote in the other country, if s/he returns to Togo, then the Togolese authorities can deal with that and it would have nothing to do with Ghana.

How is Manchester? My child is coming to Manchester University next September.
Yaw Ohemeng 10 years ago

Hi Kofi, I hope you are doing well and Manchester is fine. Your child is very much welcome to the Mancunian city.

It is not right that the petitioners were proven wrong when they claim inconsistencies in the number of regi ...
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Hi Kofi, I hope you are doing well and Manchester is fine. Your child is very much welcome to the Mancunian city.

It is not right that the petitioners were proven wrong when they claim inconsistencies in the number of registered voters. There was that 241,000 difference, which the EC, in its preliminary response, said was due to overseas registration. The EC used all legal means to prevent submission of the details. When the court asked them to, they could only supply 705 names, which contained 50 duplications.

I think you did not listen to the press conference and neither have you read hard copies of Dr Bawumia's address. They have procured the registers for our three neighbouring countries and they are busy analysing. They had to come out with what they did because the EC announced that it was at this moment considering what to do with the current register. The NPP thought what they have found out so far should inform the EC's decision. Hopefully the full stidies will be made available when completed.

It is not the duty of the NPP to go round constituencies to check whether foreigners live there or not. They have no legal basis to even do that. Having brought out the information and qualified it with the word 'potential', the EC has to take up the investigations.

I do not know whether you have inspected any of the Togolese Voter cards and the information thereon. In addition to the name of the voter, it also has the names of parents. This is the crucial piece of information, since Togo does not recognise dual citizenship. Hence part of the qualification to vote is to demonstrate that parents are also Togolese. So all the names displayed are 100% Togolese. They cannot have any other nationality. By the way if you can prove that by another country's laws, one cannot have another nationality, the individuals concerned would be 'illegal' on another country's register. They will only be 'legal' Ghanaians if their names are not on the Togolese register.
KKO 10 years ago

Kofi,
Do you really believe in this your hollow argument or are just joining the NDC's tribal/political nonesense? Do you know ony of the towns of Ketu South? Over 76,000 dual Ghanaian-Togolese citizens in one constituency w ...
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Kofi,
Do you really believe in this your hollow argument or are just joining the NDC's tribal/political nonesense? Do you know ony of the towns of Ketu South? Over 76,000 dual Ghanaian-Togolese citizens in one constituency where most of the hamlets have just five or ten huts? Give us a break!

There is no democratic country anywhere in the world that registers more than 50% of its eligible voter population. Yet Ghana with 42% of its population under 18 registers over 56% and you think 76,000 Togolese voters in a single constituency is not anomalous?

Dr Bawumia's data shows photos, of which the ones used in the Ghanaian register are scanned ones, rather than the live ones used in Togo. Doesn't that seem odd to you? There have been a lot of idiotic comments on this obvious fraud by the NDC and you of all people should be above that!
GK 10 years ago

You are the ignorant one. Have you ever being to the Ketu South constituency?

You are the ignorant one. Have you ever being to the Ketu South constituency?
KKO 10 years ago

No I am not. I know every corner of the Volta Region, even though where I used to live has been washed away by the sea!

No I am not. I know every corner of the Volta Region, even though where I used to live has been washed away by the sea!
Read. 10 years ago

You talk a lot of nonsense all the time.This is just a fine example to debunk some of your hollow talk.Greece has a total population of 11.3 million verified.Do not tell me that the Greeks/Dutch are not credible as well.

E ...
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You talk a lot of nonsense all the time.This is just a fine example to debunk some of your hollow talk.Greece has a total population of 11.3 million verified.Do not tell me that the Greeks/Dutch are not credible as well.

Elections 2015 | Facts & Figures
Voter population

There will be 26,210 fewer voters casting their ballot in the January 25 general elections compared to the 2009 polls, while one-fifth of the Greek electorate is aged over 71 years old and is not legally obliged to vote. The largest number of Greek voters are in the 42-47 age group, with 1,003,743 individuals between these ages registered on the official electoral lists.

On January 25 a total of 9,808,760 people will be called up to vote, the majority of whom (5,060,877) are women. In the general elections of 2009 Greece had 9,834,970 registered voters and in the local and European Parliament elections of 2012 it had 9,850,802. This year’s turnout is expected to be smaller due to the fact that thousands of voters who live outside their districts did not have time to transfer their papers to their place of residence.

Now this for the Netherlands.

The table below shows the statistics from recent elections in Netherlands. The data has been verified where possible. Total population 16.919.139 million. Eligible voters. 13.322.602 million.I will leave you to work your nonsense out of it.
KKO 10 years ago

You are one of those idiots who come to this forum to insult without understanding what you read. Even the EC admits that Ghana’s Electoral register is bloated and the reason is the fraudulent registration of minors and fo ...
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You are one of those idiots who come to this forum to insult without understanding what you read. Even the EC admits that Ghana’s Electoral register is bloated and the reason is the fraudulent registration of minors and foreigners. Compare the figures below, but then, you probably do not have enough intelligence to understand it!

0-14 years: 38.6% (male 4,988,823/female 4,943,451) Ghana

0-14 14.4% Greece
SARPONG 10 years ago

Some of these Ndc supporters have the brain the size of an ant and don't even understand what they read. Thank you Doc for that simple data to show that fool how hollow his argument is.

Some of these Ndc supporters have the brain the size of an ant and don't even understand what they read. Thank you Doc for that simple data to show that fool how hollow his argument is.
MARCUS AMPADU 10 years ago

I hope it is not too late to fast track difficult to forge permanent voters' cards for every Ghanaian eligible to vote in November 2016.

It is wrong to single out the Volta Region.
What about cross border voting from Bu ...
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I hope it is not too late to fast track difficult to forge permanent voters' cards for every Ghanaian eligible to vote in November 2016.

It is wrong to single out the Volta Region.
What about cross border voting from Burkina Faso, Ivorian, Benin, Malian, & Nigerien citizens?

It is in the nation's interest to have a fair election. Let's do it.
tiger shark 10 years ago

how can one trust Bawumia who douldnt
Count pink Sheets.A Person who wanted ghanains to believe one plus one equals three.The NPP thugs are desperate for power that they will do anything to deceive ghanaians,These thugs are ...
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how can one trust Bawumia who douldnt
Count pink Sheets.A Person who wanted ghanains to believe one plus one equals three.The NPP thugs are desperate for power that they will do anything to deceive ghanaians,These thugs are not trustworth.
Agbeko 10 years ago

We dare NPP and Bawumia to publish the full list of the over 76,000 Ghanaian on both registers. At least some of them will come out and explain the circumstances or deny the claim.
What they have done is show names of the af ...
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We dare NPP and Bawumia to publish the full list of the over 76,000 Ghanaian on both registers. At least some of them will come out and explain the circumstances or deny the claim.
What they have done is show names of the affected persons in the so-called Ghana register without corresponding names in the Togo register.
Nokware_ Asa 10 years ago

Showcasing Paul Afoko, Kwabena Agyepong, and Nana Addo on the same podium[a Unity and Party Solidarity smokescreen], will pale in comparison with the political flak/bashing it will take, as a result of this 'foolish' display ...
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Showcasing Paul Afoko, Kwabena Agyepong, and Nana Addo on the same podium[a Unity and Party Solidarity smokescreen], will pale in comparison with the political flak/bashing it will take, as a result of this 'foolish' display by Bawumiah and his cabal last Tuesday. Prior to this event, many people were credting the beleaguered duo of Afoko and Agyepong with some level-headedness; but I am afraid that 'l
Nokware_ Asa 10 years ago

The benefit the NPP will get by showcasing Paul Afoko, Kwabena Agyepong, and Nana Addo on the same podium[a Unity and Party Solidarity smokescreen], will pale in comparison with the political flak/bashing it will suffer, as a ...
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The benefit the NPP will get by showcasing Paul Afoko, Kwabena Agyepong, and Nana Addo on the same podium[a Unity and Party Solidarity smokescreen], will pale in comparison with the political flak/bashing it will suffer, as a result of this 'foolish' display of ethnocentricity by Bawumiah and his cabal this past Tuesday. Prior to this event, many people were credting the beleaguered duo of Afoko and Agyepong with some level-headedness; but I am afraid even that has now been lost!
Menaba 10 years ago

This piece completely floors Bawumia's illiterate analysis.I anow convinced that the NpP has no case at all not even at the International Court of Justice in the Hague . Bawumia should wait and see.The NPP will dump him like ...
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This piece completely floors Bawumia's illiterate analysis.I anow convinced that the NpP has no case at all not even at the International Court of Justice in the Hague . Bawumia should wait and see.The NPP will dump him like they did to Aliu Mahama. The Cartepillar constructs the road but is never allowed to ply the same road that it constructed. It will only be on a low loader when you see it plying the same road it constructed. This is what will happen to Bawumia.
Francis adjei kojo amo 10 years ago

More vim Dr. U are the best.

More vim Dr. U are the best.

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Flawed Voters Register: Is Dr Bawumia/NPP being Deceptive?

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