‘Yenpene’ demo against new voters, can we “shoot down” the register?

The Inter-Party Resistance Against the New Voters Register, continue to fight the EC’s plans to introduce a new register for the 2020 general elections to be held in December.

While the EC is working hard to ensure the voter’s register is changed to help correct anomalies in it, all the opposition parties have indicated that the old register should be used since it is too late to try to create a new register barely 10 months to elections.

The group made of political parties against the compilation of a new voters’ register have given reasons why they hold the view. Civil societies have also joined in their effort to shoot down the new voters’ register agenda.

READ: Election 2020: Electoral Commission sets April for new voters’ register

The EC has however indicated that it will not be back off from its efforts at giving Ghana a new credible register devoid of the challenges the current register faces.

The quest for a new Voters’ register dates back to 2015 when the NPP started calling for it claiming it was flawed. The NPP subsequently followed up their allegations with evidence and a petition to the Electoral Commission (EC).

According to the EC, a biometric register is not adequate if we are to obtain a reliable, credible, transparent and trustworthy electoral system and results which we can trust. ” he said.

It is, therefore, calling for a modern IT infrastructure that is not just robust but also secure and reliable.
The EC has also cited outdated server, storage, and networking hardware as other reasons that have informed its decision to get a new register in place for the 2020 elections.

CODEO’s report on the 2012 elections sighted the BVR equipment malfunction as one of the challenges the affected the elections. Registration kit malfunction and challenges, including login
difficulties, screen freezes, and printer breakdowns were experienced.

The Post-Election Experiential Survey of CODEO revealed that close to 99% of respondents found their names in the voter’s register whiles 98% were verified by the BVR before being allowed to vote.

The Inter-Party Resistance Against the New Voters Register have vowed to continue their demonstrations to ensure, their voices are heard. The EC wants the new voters’ register so as to deal with anomalies of the current one, the opposition parties say no, it is too late, and the ruling government supporters also have their own views.

To ensure these divergent views are merged based on consensus, there is the need to critically examine the issues raised at both ends and deal with the new voters’ register issue as soon as possible.