Haruna Iddrisu, Minority Leader
The Minority National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Parliament yesterday unfurled propaganda to create the impression that the Electoral Commission (EC) was phasing out 6,300 registration centres from the upcoming voters’ registration exercise.
Even before the EC officials could hold a meeting with the Special Budget Committee of Parliament, the NDC Minority side, led by Haruna Iddrisu, went ahead of them and made the outlandish claims.
Bossman Intervention
It had to take the intervention of the Deputy Commissioner in charge of Corporate Affairs, Dr. Eric Bossman Asare, who was at the meeting, to explain the EC’s 6,300 plans to scores of journalists around.
The bottomline was that this year’s registration of voters would be conducted in five phases in all the gazetted 3,3367 registration centres across the country as part of mitigating measures against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), and Dr. Asare explained further that the registration would also be done in a cluster form – five clusters.
“So what this means is that each cluster will be in a phase. Phase one will be in 20 per cent of the 3,3367 registration centres, and that phase one will constitute 6,000 registration centres,” he said.
“So when we move to phase two, we are going to have the same number of registration centres. What this actually means is that we are going to register at every registration centre,” he added.
Dr. Asare gave an assurance that by the end of the phases, every centre would have been captured since the commission would do everything possible to register all eligible voters, adding “so when we begin and we are not yet at your place just wait for us. The commission will get there and you will be registered.”
Haruna Attack
Before Dr. Asare’s explanation, the NDC Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale South had told the media that “the commission intends to phase out the registration exercise in some 6,300 registration centres out of the 33,000 registration centres across the country.”
“That troubles my heart because Article 42 will not be observed in essence… making available to Ghanaians a legitimate and guaranteed right that they are entitled to under Article 42,” he claimed.
Three Points
Haruna Iddrisu insisted that he made three important observations from the meeting and that after listening to the EC chairperson, “I feel profoundly troubled for the future of Ghana’s democracy,” adding “I feel disappointed that in her answers, she made two significant worrying statements that the people of Ghana must know.”
“They will phase out registration exercise not absolute, not countrywide, not in every registration centre and not in their 33,000 gazetted polling stations. So it means that the number they are given today contradicts what has been officially gazetted. So take note of that,” he said.
No Truth
But the EC deputy commissioner insisted that there was no truth in the assertion that the EC intended to reduce the existing registration centres.
“When we begin phase one, it will tackle 20 per cent of the registration centres; phase two, 20 per cent; phase three, 20 per cent; phase four, 20 per cent; and phase five, 20 per cent. And that gives us 100 per cent and when we finish all we will also have a mob-up. Nothing has changed from the previous announcement the commission made,” he insisted.
Dr. Asare added, “It is not true that some of the potential registrants will have to journey. The cluster system basically means that when we begin the registration, we will start at certain specific registration centres.”
“After six days, we move to the next cluster. So what this means is that every registration centre will be attended to…” he said.
PPE
On PPE, Dr. Asare said the EC has over 42,000 registration officials and that they were working on getting PPE, hand sanitizers, thermometer guns and “other several things we are procuring to be able to do the work.”
NIA Cards
Haruna Iddrisu again said he was worried the EC would not use the data of the NIA, accusing the Chairperson of the EC, Jean Mensa, of not having understanding for data synchronization and harmonization.
“In her answers to a simple question, she stated… ‘we do not intend to use the data of the National Identification Authority’ and so what will they do with the National ID card – any person walks there, no opportunities for verification, no opportunity for authentication.”
“She emphasized that they would only use it for purposes of identity that you are a citizen of Ghana and so she does not understand what it means to share data, synchronize and harmonize data.
“If any of you have a Ghana card and put the chip in it into a dedicated and well-built software and hardware, bio-data must necessarily show up,” the NDC MP stated.
Data Use
The deputy commissioner said the EC never stated it would use data from the NIA, pointing out that the “NIA card is only a form of identification to establish one’s citizenship as Ghanaian just like the passport.”
“Anyone who doesn’t have the Ghana card and passport, two people who have already registered to vote can guarantee for you and once you are a registered voter you qualify to guarantee for 10 individuals,” he added.