THE CASE FOR A
NEW VOTERS REGISTER
Press Conference held by THE NEW PATRIOTIC
PARTY (NPP)
Alisa Hotel, Accra
-----------------------------------------------------
A valid voters’ register is essential for free
and fair elections. The evidence that we are
presenting here today is overwhelming proof that
the 2012 Voters’ register is incurably flawed
and cannot be relied on for the 2016 elections.
This morning we presented our arguments and
evidence on this matter to the Electoral
Commission. We however deem it important to
share this with all Ghanaians.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the process of unraveling
the mystery of surrounding Ghana’s apparently
bloated voters register has been a painstaking
one. While we have had several pieces of the
jig-saw puzzle, we have always been missing the
final conclusive piece that will lay all doubts
to rest.
Ladies and Gentlemen, it is important by way of
background to review some of the pieces of the
jig-saw puzzle that we have previously
presented.
TOGOLESE NATIONALS ON GHANA'S VOTER REGISTER
LIST
Samples of the over 76,000 voters on both the
Ghanaian and Togolese Voters'Registers ,so far
identified by the NPP's investigation team, with
full details as they appear on the Registers of
the two countries.
The details in the Togolese Voters' Register
include; Voter ID Number, Surname, Other Names,
Name of Father, Name of Mother, Occupation, Age,
Gender, etc.
The details on the Ghanaian Register are: Name,
Voter ID Number, Age and Gender.
This document is just a fifth of the samples
presented to the Electoral Commission on 18th
August, 2015.
Recommendations
1. A new voters register should be created to
replace the over bloated 2012 register. We
suggest that this register should be created no
later than June 2016.
2. The new register should result in the issue
of Permanent Voter Cards with biometric
information embedded in the cards as was the
case in Nigeria recently.
3. The period of registration for the new
register should be limited to a maximum of two
weeks and the registration should take place
simultaneously across all polling stations.
4. The new register that is compiled should be
independently audited by an internationally
reputable firm before the 2016 election.
5. Copies of the new voters’ register should be
provided to political parties in both the
electronic (csv file) and (pdf file) formats.
6. The new register should be sorted
alphabetically by last name and gender.
7. The new Register should clearly delineate
voters registered overseas by country and basis
for registration (e.g., mission, scholarship,
etc).
8. Statistical data supporting the new voters
register (i.e. total number of votes, split by
gender, polling stations, electoral area,
constituency, region and country) should be
provided to political parties.
9. The Public Elections (Registration of Voters)
Regulations 2012, C.I. 72 be amended to ensure
that political parties receive copies of the
final register of voters based on which the EC
will be conducting the General Elections at
least ninety (90) days before the conduct of the
elections.
10. Regulation 1(4) of C. I. 72 be amended to
read that a registered voter cannot guarantee
more than two (2) potential registrants. Copies
of such registrations should be made available
to the political parties and should also be
accessible by the general public.
11. Resource the National Identification
Authority to create a register of all
inhabitants of the land. This register will
serve as the singular reference for all
Government offices and programs, like NHIS, Free
Education, Youth Employment, Passports, Driver’s
Licenses, Tax collection etc which in itself
creates a disincentive to provide false
information.
For the full report:
THE CASE FOR A NEW VOTERS REGISTER
TOGOLESE NATIONALS ON GHANA'S VOTER REGISTER
LIST
