- A voter register used for a regional creation referendum, Ayawaso by-elections and district assembly elections cannot be that bad for a general election that is just a year to come.
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We are currently struggling to give every citizen a Ghana card. The card in future will integrate vital cards like SSNIT, NHIS, voter’s ID among others. So, the need for a new register is criminally intended or willfully causing financial loss to the state or both.
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A population census happens every 10 years. Next year will be a population census. The census data is always given to state institutions including the EC for making informed decisions. What will EC do with the census data that would be ready in 2021 if they succeed in bulldozing their ill-intent register through.
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There will be advertisement, tendering and procurement processes in creating a new register. What time will the EC use to do all this in an election year. There could be an unforseen circumstances that could lead to the disfranchisement of many Ghanaians. Reference is to the Ghana Card wahala. It is been a year and millions of Ghanaians are not registered yet.
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The current register has produced both NDC and NPP government. Therefore, the Ministry of Electoral Commission’s desperation and indecipherable explanations on the need for a new register portend undesirable consequences for our democracy as well as the stability of our country.
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The government appointees at the EC (Jean Mensah and Asare Bossman) have both said the register is credible but overstretched. Look, if we create a new register for every election, the register would still be overstretched to a reasonable degree. Credible registers do not necessarily produce credible results. The processes do: ensuring that the incumbent government does not rig the election through the use of brute state power, doubling voting, ballot stuffing, Israeli IT figures massaging, overstretching the citizens with nebulous new register among others.
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The country is not in good standing. It is neck deep in debt and the cedi is falling like flowers in autumn. Basic school kids do not have textbooks. Secondary school student are on double track and are losing several months of contact hours with teachers. Rotation nurses have not been paid for ten good months, teachers’ struggle for their arrears are affecting poor pupils in schools. The challenges are simply one too many. We cannot afford in the name of common sense to waste nearly GHC1 billion cedis on a needless voter’s register. It is not worth it.
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Ghanaians are tired of queueing especially Indian filing in the name of the politicians. We have consistently registered very low voter turnout in recent years. Ghanaians are no longer ready to waste their precious time and business hours to queue just to vote lest register. Trying to create a new register within a year and in a voting year is going to be rushed process and many people are simply not going to register for sheege reasons.
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Fall outs from the new register is going to be the most important factors by candidates in conceding defeat in the 2020 general elections. This crop of EC recruits has never successfully organised any of their statutory duties and responsibilities. As a Ghanaian, I can’t afford to be to optimist. If we go by the new register, there is going to be tremendous challenges. When these challenges characterise particular demographics and regions deemed to be strongholds of a particular party, the collective safety of Ghana will hang in the air.
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The EC setup a 21-member advisory committee for Election 2020 and guess what: Dr Afari Gyan is not part of it. With no disrespect to the Emile Short chaired committee, I can reasonably conclude that Dr Afari Gyan is weightier than committee. Jean knows that people like no-nonsense Gyan will strongly advise against the risible contemplation for new voter’s register in an election year.
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From preponderance of evidence, men are inclined to aggression but women hate war. Jean Mensah should not be the woman EC chair to supervise certain actions and inactions that could lead Ghana into a state of pandemonium and higgledy-piggledy. Jean should reach out to my beloved Charlotte Osei for abecedarian lessons in organising a credible and peaceful elections.
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The NPP has shown ample reasons that they will do anything humanly possible to retain power and they are unashamed about it. It sad. A government that puts its political interest (ambulance issue) above the health and lives of the citizens can truly go far with anything to win power. The EC chair and her underlings should stop acting as if the entire institution is one of president’s needless and useless job for boys ministries.
Source: Hanan-Confidence Abdul
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