The 2020 Voters register should be the last register to be compiled – CODEO

The Coalition for Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) has urged the Electoral Commission (EC) to bring an end to the periodic exercise of compiling a new voters register.

According to the election observers group, the said exercise is costly to the state and “often accompanied by violence, stakeholder mistrust, suspicion, acrimony, and tension”.

CODEO, as part of its recommendations from its Post-Election Stakeholders Review Workshop on Ghana’s 2020 Presidential and General Elections, issued on Friday, May 7, 2021, said the 2020 voters register should be the last one to be compiled.

“Other challenges associated with the periodic registration of voters include the registration by unqualified persons (minors and foreigners), the bussing of people from one part of the country to register at different locations as well as the abuse of the guarantor system.”

It thus urged the EC to collaborate with the National Identification Authority (NIA) to enable it to capture Ghanaians who turn 18 onto the current register.

According to CODEO, the said harmonization is capable of “replacing the process of compiling a new or limited voters’ register from time to time.”

“The 2020 voters register should be the last register to be compiled from scratch. Going forward, the EC should collaborate with the National Identification Authority (NIA) to create an integrated system for identifying current voters and also for registering qualified individuals who turn 18 years.”

CODEO charged the EC to engage political parties and other key stakeholders, including CSOs to build trust.

“To help build stakeholder trust, the EC should engage political parties and other key stakeholders including CSOs every step of the way towards the harmonization of the EC and NIA systems.”