UG must take the lead in transforming electoral system in Ghana – Security Analyst

Security Analyst, Adib Saani has tasked the University of Ghana to take the lead in transforming the electoral system in the country. Adib Saani believes that this will go a long way to help Ghanaians be inclined with the digital ways of performing tasks. Speaking to UniversNews, he stressed that online practices are safer ways of carrying out very important tasks like voting. He also urged the University of Ghana to be the symbol of the effective dissemination of online elections “The world is changing, many democracies are resulting to online practices to safeguard the integrity of the electoral process. It’s been some concerns raised as to whether the integrity of the online systems is safeguarded, I think that it is much better than, you know, the manual way in which we have been doing things highjacking or stealing ballot boxes will be a thing of the past. "I think the University of Ghana should take the lead, should set the pace in transforming our electoral system in Ghana, and so hopefully, as time passes by, we will be more inclined to the online way of doing things,” he said. Further speaking, Adib Saani added that online elections safeguard the integrity of electoral processes. He called for more stakeholder engagements to help build confidence in online elections. “I think that it is much safer and it builds more confidence than the manual process. We have tried the manual process for crying out loud we are in the twenty-first century, and technology has come to stay in-fact technology has made our lives much easier hence there need for us to explore the possibility of us entrenching our democracy through IT. "However, there is still the need for confidence building, people would have to make to accept the technology so the technology can solve all of our problems but with doubt and confidence, some people would try to look at it with one eye closed. "So, that is why it is imperative that various stakeholders within the university electoral system should be engaged and should be made to understand the nuances and there should be by in which eventually ensures some level of support and gangrening in the process,” he mentioned. The University of Ghana Student Representative Council (UGSRC) is using the online mode of voting in this year’s elections to elect a new crop of executives to manage student affairs for the 2022/2023 academic year. Five Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates are vying for the Presidency. They are Curtis Owusu Akomeh and Linda Ackah Mensah, Martin Boakye and Abraham Lincoln, Samuel Ackom and Ramzy Ahmed, Graham Oduro Dery and Benedict Paakwesi Bortsie and Noah Wumborbi and Kojo Ambrose. Diana Ohene Bemah, Vida Minta, Ernestina Mahama, and Emmanuella Boakye Yiadom are contesting for the General Secretary portfolio. The treasurer portfolio is contested by Micheal Kuti and Edward Owusu Boateng. The 2021 University of Ghana Student Representative Council UGSRC elections were conducted using the hybrid mode where levels 100 and 400 voted online, and in-person elections were conducted for level 200 and 300 students. The elections ended with a violent clash between residents of the Commonwealth and Mensah Sarbah Hall.