V/R: Decentralise voter registration exercise, conducting exercise at District offices ‘frivolous’ – CODAA tells EC

The Coalition of District Assembly Aspirants (CODAA) wants the Electoral Commission (EC) to rescind its decision to conduct its upcoming voter registration exercises at its District Offices but rather decentralise it.

The Coalition says decentralising the exercise to the electoral level will enable massive participation while lessening the burden on people having to travel miles to the various EC district offices to enable them partake in the exercise.

Addressing the media at a press conference on Tuesday, 29 August 2023, at the Volta Regional Press Centre in Ho, the National Convener for the group, Mawunyo Agbe explained the Coalition’s stance on the EC’s upcoming voter registration exercise to be held at the various District offices of the Commission.

According to the Convener for the group, “the Coalition views the decision and the notice by Commission as frivolous and one that falls short of promoting Local Governance in Ghana, especially in terms of participation in the District Assembly Elections (DAE) by eligible voters".

Mr Agbe noted that the District Level Election (DLE) in Ghana is an essential part of the nation's decentralised governance system and, therefore, the Coalition is bent on protecting it from the structural obstacles currently being deployed by the Electoral Commission of Ghana which would lead to its total collapse.

“Permit me to ask if it is not insensitive or absurd to demand from an 18-year-old who perhaps has just completed SHS to board a vehicle and embark on a 20 to 50-kilometre journey to District Electoral Office,to register for a voter ID card, under this excruciating economy, what will be the motivation of these young first-time voters to take the risk?" he quizzed.

He further noted that the participation level in successive District Assembly Elections (DLE) are not encouraging, while making reference to the District Assembly election figures for November 2019, which showed less than 40 per cent turnout across the country.

The Convener for the group stressed that, the Commission should have considered that performance before arriving at its modalities, especially considering the decision of bringing the exercise to the District Offices to new voters to register instead of conducting the exercise in the various electoral areas.

He indicated that the registration exercise, if done at the various electoral areas whips up the enthusiasm in voters that districts assembly elections is beckoning with its effect being massive participation in the elections.

The Coalition is, therefore, demanding that the EC quickly rescinds its decision to hold the registration exercise in the various district offices and decentralise it instead in order to achieve to maximum turnout, needed proximity by cutting down costs, wastage of man power, loss of productive hours, congestion at the District Centres especially taking into consideration the number of people the Commission intends to capture on the voter roll during the exercise and the associated risks for people to travel from far places to register at the District Offices.

The Coalition further indicated that it will consider legal options if the EC fails to rescind its decision to conduct the registration exercise in its District Offices.

The EC has announced an upcoming voter registration exercise.

The exercise will commence on Tuesday, 12 September to Monday, 2 October 2023.

The exercise will be held between 8am and 5pm each day including Saturdays and Sundays.

The registration will take place at all 268 district offices of the commission