Election2000: Final voters register to be out next week

A member of the Ghanaian Electoral Commission (EC) in-charge of the Ashanti Region, Professor Ernest Dumor, on Monday said a final voters register, which could be described as credible, would be ready by next week. Opening a two-day training course for returning officers, deputy returning officers and district election officers in Kumasi in central Ghana, he said the commission is steadily cleaning the register by removing the names of dead people.

Dumor said the exercise to exchange thumbprint identity cards for photo ones, is on course but noted that some under-aged persons and others who did double registration and are still in possession of their ID cards are not prepared to surrender them.

He said the detection and deletion of undesirable names from the register is all geared towards making the register credible enough to be used.

Dumor asked returning and district election officers to handle election materials with care so that they do not get into wrong hands.

Ghana, Dumor said, has assumed the leadership role in Africa with her democratic dispensation and therefore anything that happens in the country is not only of interest to the people but to the international community as well.

He attributed this recognition to the fact that the EC has performed its task efficiently, and appealed to the participants to assist in ensuring free and fair elections. He also asked them to draw the distinction between election observers and election monitors, pointing out that the EC is the only body, which is mandated to monitor elections at polling stations.

Dumor assured political parties that the commission would consider all grievances and urged them to co-operate with it to ensure efficiency. He said the electorate should also conduct themselves properly to ensure successful polling on December 7. It is known that the register is bloated by 1.5 million.