Parties hold similar and divergent views on voters' register

Dr David Percy of the National Reform Party over the weekend described Ghana’s electoral system as being robust.

He said “we are trying to address non-existent problem because the system is robust” and can address any problem both actual and imagined.

Dr Percy said this when he took his turn at the public forum organized by the Electoral Commission in Accra to determine whether to maintain the current Voters' Register, or to go in for a new one.

Dr Percy said “we need to address this elephant that we have at home, saying this four-year cycle people have their roots in feudalism which insist that they have the right to govern, saying, political parties must work, it is a Republic not a monarchy.

According to him in a Republic we talk of universal adult suffrage, so political parties should work and put up candidates who will articulate their views otherwise they have no right to threaten people’s peace.

Mr Anin-Kofi Addo, Founder and Chairman of the Yes People’s Party, said the Voters' Register should be audited, because he was of the view that the ineligible voters were too many in the Register.

Mr Kofi Akpaloo of the Independent People’s Party, said changing the Register now wa\s not the issue.

He based his argument on the grounds that the form of identification would remain the same and would produce same results, timing and cost of a new Register were not prudent, some unscrupulous political parties who got minors into the Register would do the same.

Ghana’s law permit dual dual/multiple neutrality so entitlement to vote should be according to the law so EC and all political parties must strictly enforce no verification o vote principle and parties should engaged well educated polling agents.

Mrs Akua Donkor of the Ghana Freedom Party said the old Register should be maintained for the 10-year period, before it would be changed.

Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia, NDC General Secretary, said during the compilation of the current Voters' Register, all criteria were followed, and so what was needed was a periodic review of the Register until the required 10 years stipulated for the country to go in for a new Register.

Mr Pater Mac-Manu, NPP former National Chairman, said stated that the Register contained multiple registration, multiple voter identity numbers and foreign nationals, adding that the percentage of voters in the Register as compared to the population size was not acceptable.

He alleged that the biometric system was unable to detect ineligible voters and therefore it could not be relied on.

In sum, 15 political parties, 11 Civil Society Organizations, (CSOs), four individuals and some anonymous individuals, made their submissions.

The parties that made submission included; NDC, NPP, YES People’s Party, Great Consolidated People’s Party, Convention People’s Party, National Democratic Party, Progressive People’s Party, People’s National Convention, Ghana Freedom Party, Eagle Party, United Front Party, Democratic People’s Party, NRP, UPP and RDP.

The CSOs also included the Centre for Democratic Development, Institute for Democratic and Economic Governance, Christian Council of Ghana, Bishops and Pastors Network, World Peace volunteers, National Youth Peace, Imani Ghana, Movement for Joint Action, Centre for African Development, Intellectuals for National Development, Ghana Institute of Public Policy Options.