EC recruits teachers, Service personnel for 2016 polls

The Electoral Commission (EC) would be giving its final decision on the compilation of a new voter register at the end of the year as it confirms November 7, 2016 as the day for the general elections.

The EC also says it will use teachers and national service persons to avoid the ‘twenty-seven zero’ scam in the 2012 polls.

The chairperson of the EC, Charlotte Osei, who gave the information in parliament yesterday, said November 3 has been set aside for special voting which may include journalists who would be covering the elections, while the declaration of the results would be done on November 9 with a possible run-off slated for November 28.

According to the EC’s chairperson, the total cost of the general election would be GH¢1.2 billion and an additional GH¢350 million would be required for a possible run-off.

On the vexed issue of a possible compilation of a new voter register, the EC chairperson said that the Commission had put in place a panel that is reviewing the petition brought by the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) and also soliciting public opinion on the matter, and that the panel would soon present its recommendations to enable the EC also take its final decision on the issue.

According to her, when the NPP presented the petition on a warped register, the EC engaged two independent experts to do some analysis on the data presented while the Commission also conducted its own independent investigations into the matter.

“We hope by the end of the year the panel would have made its recommendations to enable us to also make our final decision on the voter register,” she said

According to her, if the need to compile a new register arises, it will definitely alter the calendar of the EC for the general election – which will mean that the EC will have to adjust to make room for the compilation of the new register.

Mrs Charlotte Osei did not however, give a clear indication of the cost of the compilation of a new voter register, but said that re-registration of new voters would take place between March 18 and March 27, 2016 at the cost of GH¢900 million and expressed the hope that funds for the conduct of the elections would be released on time by the Ministry of Finance in order not to derail the whole process.

“Mr Speaker, we think that our electoral officers who would be recruited should be well remunerated and that we have proposed GH¢477 to cover their transport and allowances for the period,” she averred.

The EC boss indicated that the voter register would be displayed for exhibition in June next year while the same register would be given to political parties by October 22, 2016 to enable them also plan for the general election.

She said that the Commission would also make the ballot papers simpler to reduce the occurrence of spoilt ballots during voting.

The minority leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, raised serious concerns about the cost of conducting elections in the country, saying that looking at what the EC had presented, the cost on an eligible voter in Ghana is about $32 while in Nigeria and other countries in the sub-region the cost per voter is about $13.

He stated that in 2012, 14.6 million voters were captured and that the EC had projected about 15.7 million voters for 2016 which would represent about 57% of a projected population of 27 million – far above the normal voting population rate of 46% across the world.