David Asante flanked by Ibrahim Adjei (on his right) and Joseph Bediako
Concerns are being raised about the supposed number of people who could not turn up to vote in the just-ended general election.
The ‘Let My Vote Count Alliance’ (LMVCA) pressure group thinks there is more to it than what has been said about the Electoral Commission (EC). The elections may be over but there are still lingering doubts about the over five million registered voters who did not partake in the exercise.
Although a total of 15,712,499 persons registered to vote, figures provided by the EC indicate that the voter turnout was 10,781,917, (68.62% of the registered voters).
This indicates that about a third [5 million registered voters] on the electoral roll did not vote.
This is what makes the LMVCA have doubts about the actual number of people on the register.
At a press conference in Accra yesterday, convener of LMVCA, David Asante, asked the EC to come clear on the 5 million people who did not vote.
He however, commended the commission for a good job done regarding the electioneering process.
Following the 2013 election petition and the accompanying revelations of grievous irregularities in the electoral process, LMVCA played a frontline role to secure electoral reforms for more credible elections this year.
To this end, Mr Asante said, “We are happy to say we have fought hard to contribute meaningfully to the consolidation of Ghana’s democracy; and we are happy we did, with the results, as every vote has counted.”
Apart from that, he claimed, “LMVCA scrutinized the entire electoral process and highlighted lapses, which could have potentially affected the credibility of the entire process.”
As a result of the September 15 demonstration, he noted that many Ghanaians were made aware of the inconsistencies in the voter register. “Subsequently, the EC constituted the VCRAC Crabbe Committee to probe the calls for a new voter register and to streamline the electoral process.”
By Charles Takyi-Boadu