She has been brought to the chair to rig the election in favour of NDC which is clear in all her actions.She herself is a thief.She has hijacked democracy in Ghana
She has been brought to the chair to rig the election in favour of NDC which is clear in all her actions.She herself is a thief.She has hijacked democracy in Ghana
LONTO-BOY 8 years ago
Dr Yaw Ohemeng, I'm not sure the EC boss, Mr Charlotte Osei told lies to deceive the nation with her statements on the Panel's Report on the issue of country's Voters' Register when she put herself in front of the television ... read full comment
Dr Yaw Ohemeng, I'm not sure the EC boss, Mr Charlotte Osei told lies to deceive the nation with her statements on the Panel's Report on the issue of country's Voters' Register when she put herself in front of the television and radio audiences. Being on the Joy Newsfile programme was useful for her to explain the positions of the EC on the country's electoral issues, and the deeply contentious arguments put forward by all the political parties. Yes, I had problem with some of her pronouncements and choice of words on the NPP, but undoubtedly, she provided decent explanations on all the contentious issues. You may not necessarily agree with her explanations and the final decision of the Panel Report. However, if the NPP finds her statements on the Panel Report something of her "own deliberate misrepresentation", then the NPP should officially point out her deliberate lies to the nation.
The New Voters' Register-versus-'Cleaning' the 2012 Register. The EC boss explained that first and foremost, it is about ensuring that the Voters' Register remains free from political control/manipulation. Hence, maintaining but cleaning the 2012 Register. And listening to Charlotte on the issue of "registration of minors", I don't think she could be any clearer on that issue, even if a new Voters' Register is to be compiled. A new Voters' Register may be a good idea but it is never going to fix completely the supposed problems in the 2012 Register. And this is the key to the whole argument given the fact that Ghana has no standard data base for its citizens and foreign nationals in the country.
Although the Panel believes that a new Voters' Register would not be cost-effective, but it didn't go in any detail why there should be the need for a new one to be compiled in its deliberations and in the final report, if NPP's arguments were strong enough.
Yaw Ohemeng 8 years ago
I'm sure you are representing your own views here. The article quoted from the Panel's report and is asking what the statement of 31st December sought to achieve. You are here discussing what she said on Newsfile.
We are ... read full comment
I'm sure you are representing your own views here. The article quoted from the Panel's report and is asking what the statement of 31st December sought to achieve. You are here discussing what she said on Newsfile.
We are talking about different issues.
I'm asking why the EC put out a statement that the panel was unconvinced by the NPP's case when the Panel's own analysis showed that the register is bloated. Did the EC tell Ghanaians that the Panel that its proposed method of cleaning has not been effective?
It's not about minors; it's not about foreigners. The Panel recommended that all voters be made to validate their details before they stay on the Register. This is not what the EC told the public.
This is the crux of the article.
Kofi Ata, Cambridge, UK 8 years ago
Happy 2016 Dr Yaw Ohemeng. First, I am of the view that the setting up of the committee was a waste of time and resources. Of course, I accept that the EC has constitutional power to set up committees, working groups, etc to ... read full comment
Happy 2016 Dr Yaw Ohemeng. First, I am of the view that the setting up of the committee was a waste of time and resources. Of course, I accept that the EC has constitutional power to set up committees, working groups, etc to assist with the management and organisation of elections in Ghana. However, at the end of the day the final decision rests with the EC. Second, the Chairman of the Committee had publicly made his views known on the matter for consultation. Indeed, the EC itself had made some indication that it did not believe in the preparation of a new register. Therefore, there was no controversy to be resolved by either the Committee or the EC. The EC should have been honest with Ghanaians and told them that there will be no new register but it intended to clean the existing register. From the above, NPP as a party was against the wall and nothing it said or did would have changed the decision of the EC.
The good news is that all parties concerned(NPP, NDC, EC, the Committee, etc) agreed that the Voters' Register is not credible. The problem is how to make it credible and that where the parties differ with NPP calling for a new register and the rest opting for cleaning the existing one.
Yaw, you are right the Committee did not recommend that there should not be a new register. However, it also did not recommend a new one either. I believe it left the decision to the EC and for me that is right because a recommendation for yes or no would have compromised the independence of the EC. If the EC says it will clean the register instead of preparing a new one, NPP has two options. Either accept it and be part of it or go to court to challenge the decision and ask the court to order the EC to prepare a new one. Failure to do either of the two but continuing to demand a new register is just another waste of time. For example, it is childish for NPP to order or instruct the EC to stop any work on cleaning the register. Can NPP instruct or order the EC? What authority has NPP or Mark Manu got to instruct or order the EC if what was reported by the media is accurate?
Finally I find your conclusion that, "the Panel is thus recommending, for all practical purposes, a new register using a new registration process similar to what was used in Nigeria before their 2015 elections" strange. Are you not doing the same as the EC did for which you are accusing it of deception? Perhaps, we are in danger of misinterpreting the words "new register" because according the EC and the Committee there is nothing like 2012 register because it is regularly being updated. Does that make it a new register? I know that NPP's request for a new register means a complete start from zero and not as was done in Nigeria.
Yaw Ohemeng 8 years ago
The Panel did not leave it to the EC. I'm surprised that even by quoting the Panel's Report, people still don't get it. The Panel was emphatic the EC's proposed method of cleaning was not effective.
The recommendation was ... read full comment
The Panel did not leave it to the EC. I'm surprised that even by quoting the Panel's Report, people still don't get it. The Panel was emphatic the EC's proposed method of cleaning was not effective.
The recommendation was a middle ground of arriving at a credible register. If the EC won't accept that, we need to know why.
Happy New Year. I think you have ignored the quotes in the article.
Yaw Ohemeng 8 years ago
I could not do justice to your comments because I was on the road and had just stopped at a service station.
In your comments, accusing me of misrepresentation similar to that of the EC, you failed to inform us whether you ... read full comment
I could not do justice to your comments because I was on the road and had just stopped at a service station.
In your comments, accusing me of misrepresentation similar to that of the EC, you failed to inform us whether you have read the panel's report and the NPP statement of yesterday. If you have I will ask the following questions, answers to which I will appreciate if you can supply:
Did the EC Panel carry out an analysis of its own?
If they did, what was its conculsion regarding the 'bloatedness' of the Register?
Did they accept the present condition as tenable?
What ills did they observe as this occasioning if left unattended?
Did the Panel accept that something should be done about the Register?
Did the Panel accept the EC's proposed method of cleaning as effective?
Did you read that the Panel was recommending a middle ground?
What was that middle ground?
And lastly, if the EC's proposed method of cleaning is not considered effective, and the middle ground is adopted where voters revalidate their registration, what do we effectively have?
I am not sure whether it is deliberate or you missed it but i qualified my observation of having a new register with the word 'effectively'.
Unless you know differently what Nigeria did, they also resorted to revalidation and did not start from zero. The only difference is that they also issued new electronic ID cards.
Have a good day, Sir.
Kofi Ata, Cambridge, UK 8 years ago
Yaw, I read the full report of the Committee which was available on Graphiconline. However, I will refrain from answering the rest of your questions directly because they will not add to or change anything. I am still of the ... read full comment
Yaw, I read the full report of the Committee which was available on Graphiconline. However, I will refrain from answering the rest of your questions directly because they will not add to or change anything. I am still of the view that the Committee was at best, a PR Exercise and in fact, an exercise in futility. I did not believe that the Committee will recommend a new register as being demanded by NPP.
Like LONTO-BOY, I agree with him that Mrs Charlotte Osei explained things better on this subject when she appeared on Newsfile last Saturday than the statements issued by the EC and those explanations are key to the current debate. In fact, according to her the EC is using the same software that the Nigerian EC used and that their software has an additional element that makes it better than the one used by Nigeria. Of course, the only downside is that no new voter ID will be issued.
This whole debate is just politics and NDC would have done and behaved the same if they were in the shoes of NPP. That is why I am frustrated that NPP is not going to court on this matter so that the court can decide once and for all. It's only the judiciary that can order the EC to prepare a fresh and new voters' register. Until then, the EC will not change its mind and NPP will continue to waste precious time, energy and resources attempting to persuade the EC.
Yaw Ohemeng 8 years ago
We don't do rigour - we are Ghana! How some believe a software can remove minors, foreigners, the dead baffles me. But that's how we want to be governed as a nation.
I continue in futility.
We don't do rigour - we are Ghana! How some believe a software can remove minors, foreigners, the dead baffles me. But that's how we want to be governed as a nation.
I continue in futility.
Nii Teiko 8 years ago
Having admitted that the voter register needs to be cleaned, one would have expected the EC Boss to have gone another mile to define clearly how she was going to do that. But she has since kept Ghanaians in the dark.
The ... read full comment
Having admitted that the voter register needs to be cleaned, one would have expected the EC Boss to have gone another mile to define clearly how she was going to do that. But she has since kept Ghanaians in the dark.
The reality is that there are lots of lot of ghosts names in the register as we were made to know by Afari Gyan during the Supreme Court. DR. Afari Gyan himself disgraced himself before the supreme court( and the general public) when he failed to account for the over 750,000 Ghana nationals on the register who were said to be doing government business abroad. So with all these ghost names still hanging in the register, one would want to know the mechanism that has been put in place to fish them out. For me the only credible solution which won't affect anybody,including the EC Boss, is a totlly fresh register. Apart from the monetary factor (which would be the burden of all), what does the ndc, and the nation as a whole, stand to loose if a fresh register is compiled. When are we, as a people, gonna learn how to be perfect in doing national business? We cannot continue to rely on bogus document to make decisions that can potentially cause trouble for the entire nation.
Why can't the EC and the government do what will bring peace and satisfaction to the minds and hearts of the citizenry? Ghana is indeed sitting on a time bomb.
Kobena 8 years ago
Teiko,
The answer to your question is, "They know what they are doing and why the register is so badly bloated."
We all need to come together and ensure that the right thing is done, instead of vilifying the NPP, as some ... read full comment
Teiko,
The answer to your question is, "They know what they are doing and why the register is so badly bloated."
We all need to come together and ensure that the right thing is done, instead of vilifying the NPP, as some people have been doing. As a nation, we seem to love to reward dishonesty and bad behaviour. And it could be very costly for all of us.
Frankly, I do not understand why the NPP has not dragged the EC to court!
Yaw Ohemeng 8 years ago
A number of people have dragged the EC to court on a number of issues. What has emboldened the EC is that the courts themselves do not ensure that the right thing is done. Constituency sizes are all over the place but citizen ... read full comment
A number of people have dragged the EC to court on a number of issues. What has emboldened the EC is that the courts themselves do not ensure that the right thing is done. Constituency sizes are all over the place but citizens wanting to compel the EC to comply with the constitution are beaten back.
The courts have been part of the problem.
Kobena 8 years ago
Yes, with the kinds of revelations that have been made of our courts, it is not surprising that they behave like that.
We have all mostly buried our heads in the sand, believing that what has happened in other places cann ... read full comment
Yes, with the kinds of revelations that have been made of our courts, it is not surprising that they behave like that.
We have all mostly buried our heads in the sand, believing that what has happened in other places cannot happen in Ghana. Just seeing so much misery in Ghana recently, I get very uncomfortable thinking of what could happen in about 11 months,
BOY KOFI 8 years ago
Mrs Charlotte Osei is the boss of EC who asked 5 member panel to look into the allegation of NPP.The panel did in no way suggested to the EC that we should compile a new voters register,this must be cleared.Ofcourse,the panel ... read full comment
Mrs Charlotte Osei is the boss of EC who asked 5 member panel to look into the allegation of NPP.The panel did in no way suggested to the EC that we should compile a new voters register,this must be cleared.Ofcourse,the panel did not buy NPP's ananse story for having 76000 Togolese on our voters' register.The essential logic of EC's boss statement is that the evidence presented to the panel by NPP is not convincing.Can you,Yaw Ohemeng tell us that NPP provided a credible evidence of the 76000 Togolese on our voters' register?I don't see why you have qualms with EC instead of demanding credible evidence from Bawumia.Thank you.
Adjua 8 years ago
Charlotte Osei, I hope that you have undisturbed sleep. Remember, the blood of Ghanaians will be on your (Nigerian? ) hands. Are your children proud to call such an unprincipled person their mother?
We know that you can hav ... read full comment
Charlotte Osei, I hope that you have undisturbed sleep. Remember, the blood of Ghanaians will be on your (Nigerian? ) hands. Are your children proud to call such an unprincipled person their mother?
We know that you can have refuge in Nigeria if there's troule in Ghana, but the rest of us have nowhere to go to.
Kobena 8 years ago
A very good piece, Yaw.
I am not even sure if the committee did a good job. The register that was used for Election 2012, according to the EC, has 14.8 million names. The 2010 census says there were 13,632,299 Ghanaians aged ... read full comment
A very good piece, Yaw.
I am not even sure if the committee did a good job. The register that was used for Election 2012, according to the EC, has 14.8 million names. The 2010 census says there were 13,632,299 Ghanaians aged 18 and older in 2010.
So clearly, even if Ghana could achieve the unbelievable level of 100% registration, which does not happen anywhere in the world, that means over 1.5 million ghost names. The maximum anyone can realistically and honestly register ia about 50%, if you stretch it.
Therefore, Ghana's voters' register as it exists today, has over 7 million ghost names and for any group to say that there is no case for a new register is not honest. Yes the deviousness that went into this level of dishonesty cannot be eliminated, but we cannot continue to allow rogues among us to get away with such filth!
BlackC 8 years ago
Have you watched Charlotte Osei's interview on Newsfile addressing this percentage too high in Ghana? Go to Youtube under Joynews.
The ghost names numbers you're bringing up is old arguments based on a voters register that ... read full comment
Have you watched Charlotte Osei's interview on Newsfile addressing this percentage too high in Ghana? Go to Youtube under Joynews.
The ghost names numbers you're bringing up is old arguments based on a voters register that is paper. The voters register today is computer based. Why make all of Ghana register again when those who don't validate their registrations can be flagged or deleted.
BOY KOFI 8 years ago
If NPP feels that it has been cheated,the right place to go is court but not noise making.Thank you.
If NPP feels that it has been cheated,the right place to go is court but not noise making.Thank you.
BlackC 8 years ago
The Panels report is posted on the EC website.
Where is the deceit? You imply that the Panel "for all practical purposes" recommends a new register, but just like cleaning the register there's no where in that report doe ... read full comment
The Panels report is posted on the EC website.
Where is the deceit? You imply that the Panel "for all practical purposes" recommends a new register, but just like cleaning the register there's no where in that report does it say they recommend cleaning either. What specific page if I missed it?
Once again, the report is posted on the EC's website. How would the EC be successful with deception?
Yaw Ohemeng 8 years ago
I've supplied the quote in the article. Unless you don't agree that it comes from the report, I'm surprised by your conclusion that the Panel recommended nothing
I've supplied the quote in the article. Unless you don't agree that it comes from the report, I'm surprised by your conclusion that the Panel recommended nothing
She has been brought to the chair to rig the election in favour of NDC which is clear in all her actions.She herself is a thief.She has hijacked democracy in Ghana
Dr Yaw Ohemeng, I'm not sure the EC boss, Mr Charlotte Osei told lies to deceive the nation with her statements on the Panel's Report on the issue of country's Voters' Register when she put herself in front of the television ...
read full comment
I'm sure you are representing your own views here. The article quoted from the Panel's report and is asking what the statement of 31st December sought to achieve. You are here discussing what she said on Newsfile.
We are ...
read full comment
Happy 2016 Dr Yaw Ohemeng. First, I am of the view that the setting up of the committee was a waste of time and resources. Of course, I accept that the EC has constitutional power to set up committees, working groups, etc to ...
read full comment
The Panel did not leave it to the EC. I'm surprised that even by quoting the Panel's Report, people still don't get it. The Panel was emphatic the EC's proposed method of cleaning was not effective.
The recommendation was ...
read full comment
I could not do justice to your comments because I was on the road and had just stopped at a service station.
In your comments, accusing me of misrepresentation similar to that of the EC, you failed to inform us whether you ...
read full comment
Yaw, I read the full report of the Committee which was available on Graphiconline. However, I will refrain from answering the rest of your questions directly because they will not add to or change anything. I am still of the ...
read full comment
We don't do rigour - we are Ghana! How some believe a software can remove minors, foreigners, the dead baffles me. But that's how we want to be governed as a nation.
I continue in futility.
Having admitted that the voter register needs to be cleaned, one would have expected the EC Boss to have gone another mile to define clearly how she was going to do that. But she has since kept Ghanaians in the dark.
The ...
read full comment
Teiko,
The answer to your question is, "They know what they are doing and why the register is so badly bloated."
We all need to come together and ensure that the right thing is done, instead of vilifying the NPP, as some ...
read full comment
A number of people have dragged the EC to court on a number of issues. What has emboldened the EC is that the courts themselves do not ensure that the right thing is done. Constituency sizes are all over the place but citizen ...
read full comment
Yes, with the kinds of revelations that have been made of our courts, it is not surprising that they behave like that.
We have all mostly buried our heads in the sand, believing that what has happened in other places cann ...
read full comment
Mrs Charlotte Osei is the boss of EC who asked 5 member panel to look into the allegation of NPP.The panel did in no way suggested to the EC that we should compile a new voters register,this must be cleared.Ofcourse,the panel ...
read full comment
Charlotte Osei, I hope that you have undisturbed sleep. Remember, the blood of Ghanaians will be on your (Nigerian? ) hands. Are your children proud to call such an unprincipled person their mother?
We know that you can hav ...
read full comment
A very good piece, Yaw.
I am not even sure if the committee did a good job. The register that was used for Election 2012, according to the EC, has 14.8 million names. The 2010 census says there were 13,632,299 Ghanaians aged ...
read full comment
Have you watched Charlotte Osei's interview on Newsfile addressing this percentage too high in Ghana? Go to Youtube under Joynews.
The ghost names numbers you're bringing up is old arguments based on a voters register that ...
read full comment
If NPP feels that it has been cheated,the right place to go is court but not noise making.Thank you.
The Panels report is posted on the EC website.
Where is the deceit? You imply that the Panel "for all practical purposes" recommends a new register, but just like cleaning the register there's no where in that report doe ...
read full comment
I've supplied the quote in the article. Unless you don't agree that it comes from the report, I'm surprised by your conclusion that the Panel recommended nothing