Jean Mensa
The Electoral Commission (EC) has announced successful resolution of all discrepancies found in the Provisional Voters’ Register (PVR), including concerns raised by the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Chairperson of the EC, Jean Mensa, who disclosed this, assured that the corrected register will be made available to political parties and the public, ensuring transparency and credibility ahead of the upcoming elections.
The opposition NDC had raised concerns about the register’s credibility, alleging discrepancies made it unfit for the 2024 elections.
However, addressing a special Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting in Accra yesterday, the EC boss assured that the discrepancies had been largely addressed.
She indicated that the Commission employed tried and tested legal and administrative processes to address the issues, as outlined in the 1992 Constitution and CI-91, amended by CI-126.
According to Mrs. Mensa, discrepancies were not targeted at disenfranchising voters in specific regions.
The EC received five categories of issues from the NDC, including unidentifiable and missing voter data, illegal voter transfers, duplicates, deceased persons on the register, and incorrect polling station designations.
The EC chair disclosed that the Commission corrected these discrepancies, utilising a rigorous four-pronged approach.
The Commission, therefore, invited the NDC and the other political parties to the discussion table to demonstrate the resolved issues.
She explained that the meeting was to provide the political parties and other stakeholders with an update of progress made towards the cleaning of the PVR, and to receive inputs from them to further enhance the credibility of the Provisional Voters’ Register.
IPAC Media Coverage
“As part of the Commission’s efforts to ensure transparency and accountability in all its processes, we have decided that this meeting and all subsequent IPAC meetings will be covered by the media,” she again announced.
“It is important to note at the very onset of today’s meeting that we have made significant progress towards cleaning the Provisional Voters’ Register and ridding it of discrepancies since it was first exhibited in all 40,000 plus exhibition centres across the country,” she stressed.
She added, “As a Commission, we can confidently state that most of the discrepancies discovered to date have been resolved.”
The EC boss reassured the public that the Provisional Voters’ Register is a draft document, intended to be refined through a thorough exhibition and correction process.
According to Regulation 23 and 24 of the Public Elections Registration of Voters Regulations (2016 CI 91, amended by CI 126), she said the Commission displayed the provisional register at all exhibition centres nationwide, allowing for inspection, revision, and correction where necessary.
Mrs. Mensa emphasised that the provisional register is not perfect and is bound to contain discrepancies.
She indicated, however, that CI 91 provides a mechanism for cleaning and revising the register to ensure its credibility and robustness for the elections.
She explained further that the exhibition exercise offers a legal basis for addressing anomalies, including missing names, biographical data errors, and removal of deceased persons among others.
The Commissioner observed that these issues, raised by the NDC, are typical of registration processes and can be resolved through established legal and administrative channels.
“The Electoral Commission has employed a conscientious effort and sufficient time to address these discrepancies,” she intimated.
EC IT Officer
The EC’s Director of IT, Dr. Yaw Ofori Adjei, addressed various technical concerns, stating multiple registrations since 2020 have been identified and addressed.
According to him, proxy voters are temporarily registered and do not undergo biometric verification, while explaining the exceptions list.
He said the exceptions list includes individuals whose eligibility is disputed.
On the issue of facial recognition technology raised by the NDC at the meeting, Dr. Adjei indicated that the technology was not mature enough for implementation in 2020, but has since been improved.
On the issue of multiple numbers for some voters, he explained that offline registration issues in 2020 led to overlapping ID numbers, but all these had been resolved.
The IT Director encouraged stakeholders to use the official verification system developed by EC to ensure accurate information.
Dr. Adjei reassured the public of the Commission’s commitment to transparency and credibility, emphasising that every transaction, including transfers, is tracked.
He also said reverse transfers can be easily done when necessary, and that conflicts arising from duplicate IDs have been resolved.
By Ernest Kofi Adu