Ghana’s voters’ register has improved over time, but perfection isn’t the goal – Kweku Baako

In a recent discussion on Ghana’s electoral history on social media, seasoned journalist Abdul Malik Kweku Baako shed light on the pivotal role courts have played in ensuring a clean voters’ register, noting that they have often directed the Electoral Commission (EC) to take necessary actions.

Baako cited the 2015 NHIS Cards Registration saga as a prime example, emphasizing that such precedents should inspire and motivate aggrieved citizens or corporate entities to take similar steps when they believe legitimate grounds exist.

He went on to explain how the EC, working alongside political parties through IPAC (Inter-Party Advisory Committee), has consistently reviewed, cleaned, and audited the voters’ register to ensure credibility — though he was quick to clarify that this pursuit has never been about achieving perfection.

Baako further clarified that, apart from the 1992 elections, which used a questionable 1987/88 voters’ register, every election since has seen progressively better voter rolls. He noted that while the 1996, 2012, and 2020 elections were conducted with completely new voters’ registers, those for 2004, 2008, and 2016 underwent rigorous reviews and audits beforehand.

See the full statement below:

“A careful scrutiny of contemporary Ghanaian elections/electoral history shows that the courts have helped clean the voters’ register by ordering the EC to do the needful.

“The recent examples cited on this thread fall in the category of the 2015 NHIS Cards Registration saga.

“And these precedents should encourage and motivate similar initiatives by aggrieved citizens and/or corporate entities to pursue such courses of action if and when there are legitimate grounds for them.

The same history also indicates that the EC, in collaboration with the political parties through the instrumentality of IPAC, has undertaken reviews, cleaning, and auditing of the voters’ register over the years in pursuit of a credible (I didn’t say PERFECT!) voters’ register for elections in the 4th Republic.

“For the avoidance of doubt, apart from the 1992 elections, which were run on the basis of a patently dubious 1987/88 voters’ register, all subsequent elections have seen progressively improved voters’ registers.

“While the 1996, 2012, and 2020 elections were run on the basis of new voters’ registers, those of 2004, 2008, and 2016 went through periodic reviews, cleaning, and auditing prior to the elections under reference.

“A critical scrutiny of EC/IPAC communication and literature would vindicate the preceding observations.

“Reviews, cleaning, auditing, and compilation of new voters’ registers have been part of the arsenal in pursuit of a better election architecture and electoral transparency in Ghana since 1996!

“In 2008, the Afari Gyan-led EC set up a five-member committee to probe the NDC’s allegations of ‘bloated’ voters’ registers in 13 constituencies in the Ashanti Region and alleged decline in three constituencies in the Eastern Region.

“The committee found that the allegations were either exaggerated or false.

“However, some human and operational errors were detected, and appropriate recommendations were made to address the challenges to the satisfaction of all stakeholders prior to the 2008 election.

“For the 1996, 2012, and 2020 elections, as already indicated, fresh new voters’ registers were applied.

“The voters’ register for the 2016 elections went through a process of cleaning and auditing via the established procedures and protocols, or via the traditions and conventions as described by Mr. Asiedu Nketia at the public forum on October 29, 2015.

“Indeed, that route was recommended by the Crabbe Panel, which was set up by the Charlotte Osei-led EC.

“Today, I hear calls for an independent forensic audit to clean the voters’ register.

“Respectfully, I am not sure what ‘animal’ that might be within the context of our laws. And how different would it be from the traditions and conventions Asiedu Nketia spoke about, which incidentally, the Crabbe Panel recommended.

“As a people and a nation, we have established the precedents, enduring procedures, and protocols: traditions and conventions to clean and audit the voters’ registers for the last seven elections!

“We can and must do the same for the 2024 election!”