EC must step up its game - AFAG

The Electoral Commission (EC) must ensure the ongoing exhibition of the voters’ register is given a great deal of attention since it plays a critical role going into the 2016 elections.

According to the Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG), the Electoral Management Body must “increase awareness and publicity of the critical electoral exercise” to make sure it ends fruitfully.

It added: “We entreat the EC to demonstrate an unalloyed commitment to best practices. Indeed the EC's action or inaction certainly has a direct effect on the reliability of the voter register for the 2016 parliamentary and presidential elections.”

Below is the full statement from AFAG

Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG) appreciate the efforts of all those responsible for elevating our democratic process on the main stage of political debate. We respect the participation of all the political parties and other major stakeholders in the ongoing Electoral Commission’s (EC) exhibition of the voters’ register which began on Monday 20th July, and is expected to end on Sunday, August 72016. It has taken years of hard determined effort to arrive at where we are today.

AFAG entreats the Electoral Commission to increase awareness and publicity of the critical electoral exercise. We entreat the EC to demonstrate an unalloyed commitment to best practices. Indeed the EC's action or inaction certainly has a direct effect on the reliability of the voter register for the 2016 parliamentary and presidential elections.

For the many Ghanaians who are yet to verify their names during this exercise, AFAG encourages each and every eligible voter to participate fully in this exercise by going to the exhibition center to confirm his or her name in the voters register, and or otherwise, help address any difficulty observed in this regard.

Not only do we welcome the continuity of this democratic process, but, more broadly, we encourage registered voters to play an active role in ensuring a very successful exhibition exercise.

We also call on the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) to rise up to its core duty of educating Ghanaians on civic matters, which includes electoral processes.

God bless us all.