One of the key ingredients of participatory democracy started yesterday in the country.
It is the exercise that empowers eligible voters to take part in selecting our leaders at all the levels of governance in the country.
The Electoral Commission (EC), Ghana’s election management body, yesterday began this year’s limited registration exercise at its district offices throughout the country, some selected electoral areas and 25 public universities.
It is to enfranchise our compatriots who have turned 18 years and those who for various reasons were unable to register in the past. Reports indicate that quite a large number of the youth besieged the various registration centres to be captured on the electoral roll so that they can take part in the December 7, 2024 general election. Turnout on Registration Day One was very encouraging, albeit the technical challenges that reared their ugly heads at some of the registration centres but which were later resolved.
Some of the youth expressed frustrations at the poor network, but we are certain that these teething problems would be addressed to enable the EC to achieve its target.
The Ashanti Regional Director of the EC, Benjamin Barnor Bio, warmed the hearts of the eligible voters in Ashanti that his bosses in Accra were working hard to resolve the technical challenges.
And more reassuring is the statement from the EC headquarters that its attention had been drawn to technical challenges with internet connectivity in a number of the registration centres yesterday but by 12pm, the technical issues at most centres had been resolved.
Michael Boadu, the acting Director of Public Affairs, “encouraged all qualified applicants to avail themselves and register to vote in their respective districts”. Be that as it may, we expect Ghanaians, especially those who have turned 18 years to have trust in the EC to deliver on its mandate.
The work of the EC is celebrated beyond the shores of Ghana and for which reason, Ms. Jean Mensa and her team cannot drop the ball now after conducting very successful exercises in the past.
The Chairperson needs not to be reminded about the enormity of the limited registration exercise, with a crucial election just around the corner.
We urge the Jean Mensa-led EC to double up its efforts to achieve the desired results in the wake of persistent attacks on the person of Chairperson Jean Mensa by John Mahama and his NDC and their allies in some so-called independent institutions.
In March 2020, IMANI raised red flags about the decision of the EC to compile a new voters’ register.
IMANI reiterated that the risks involved in getting a new register far outweighed refurbishing the old one. The EC took the risk and produced a very credible register even during COVID-19.
Not satisfied, IMANI sought an alliance with Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability and petitioned the Asantehene to compel the EC to rescind its decision to compile a new voters’ register for the 2020 general election.
Bright Simon’s and Franklin Cudjoe’s think tank that is regarded to be more of a talk-tank now even backed the decision of the NDC to challenge the results of the 2020 polls at the Supreme Court.
In December 2020, John Mahama vowed to contest the election results because he believed the election was stolen for Nana Akufo-Addo by the EC.
He cited voter fraud saying, “It is for this reason that my colleagues and I will not accept what we know to be a fraudulent outcome of this election.”
Nonetheless, we all know what happened when John Mahama challenged the results in the Supreme Court. One of his trusted friends who represented him in the strong room of the EC later said “the NDC did not have evidence to back its claims.”
Professor Michael Kpessa Whyte confessed in September 2023 that his party, the NDC, was not able to collate its results for the 2020 presidential election. He told the NDC to stop creating the impression that the results of the 2020 polls were manipulated at the EC’s strong room.