Use all 1,500 offices for voters’ registration exercise - Political parties to EC

Some political parties that lack representation in Parliament have jointly appealed to the Electoral Commission (EC) to reconsider its decision regarding the number of offices to be used for the upcoming voters' registration exercise.

They have urged the EC to utilise the 1,500 gazetted offices of the commission instead of the initially announced 268 offices for the registration process.

The parties have raised concerns that the limited number of offices designated for the registration process could negatively impact the participation of eligible voters and potentially lead to unnecessary tensions.

They argue that this limited approach could also impose financial burdens on individuals and political parties due to the long distances many would have to travel to access registration centers.

The political parties advocating a change include the All People's Congress (APC), Convention People's Party (CPP), Ghana Freedom Party (GFP), Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP), Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG), National Democratic Party (NDP), and People's National Convention (PNC).

Addressing these concerns at a press conference held in Accra, Citizen Ato Dadzie, the General Secretary of the GCPP, expressed the parties' collective call for the EC, led by Chairperson Jean Mensa, to reconsider its stance.

He emphasised that such a reconsideration would reflect the EC's commitment to maintaining Ghana's reputation as a beacon of democracy.

Mr. Dadzie highlighted the discrepancy between the EC's announcement and the discussions held at the Inter Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting on August 10, 2023. During the IPAC meeting, the EC had initially communicated its intention to commence the voters' registration exercise between September 10 and 15, 2023. At that time, the EC had also suggested conducting the exercise across 268 commission offices, including a newly established district, the Guan District.

However, the political parties and civil society organisations present at the IPAC meeting unanimously opposed the limitation of registration to only the 268 offices. They argued that this approach would create concentrated crowds, adversely affecting public participation and potentially incurring high costs for individuals.

Mr. Dadzie pointed out that the stakeholders at the IPAC meeting were united in their stance against including the replacement of lost ID cards in the registration process. They cited past instances of abuse and fraudulent re-registration due to the inclusion of this element.

Despite the EC's initial agreement with the stakeholders' position, Mr. Dadzie expressed disappointment that the EC had organised a press conference within 24 hours to announce their decision, without considering the stakeholders' input.

In that press briefing led by Chairperson Jean Mensa, the EC disclosed that it aimed to register approximately 1.35 million individuals during the 2023 Voters' Registration exercise. This registration process is scheduled to take place from September 12 to October 2, with daily operations running from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., including weekends.