We need credible politicians - to have a credible voters register

After several years of political instability and socio-economic drawbacks in the past partly due to the endemic military interventions in our socio-political life as a nation, Ghana is now enjoying a relatively stable democracy as a result of the coming into force of the Fourth Republic. This is because Ghana has since 1992 held six successive and successful elections, producing two political turnovers between the two prominent political parties — the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

The peaceful nature of our transitions from one democratically elected government to another is also attributable to some institutional developments such as the Inter-Party Advisory Committee IPAC (a non-statutory body that plays consultative and advisory roles in our electoral process), a democratic system that tolerates a vibrant media, political parties and civil society organisations.

The Electoral Commissioner has come under some criticisms, especially from losing parties in almost all the elections it has conducted, yet it has remained resolute in maintaining professionalism, independence and neutrality — a feat that makes many other countries envious.

The Electoral Commission’s (EC’s) quest for making the electoral processes more transparent from one electoral cycle to another; through fostering agreements on the rules of the game using IPAC and also asserting its neutrality in relation to the performance of its core mandate, have also enhanced its image. It, therefore, stands to reason why Ghana is ranked among the high-performing countries in the comity of nations regarding political governance.

Worrying calls
However, recent calls by some political parties for the replacement of the current voters’ register, is a source of worry especially where some political leaders are using scare tactics and fear mongering to try and create support.

To begin with, it must be stated emphatically that an essential principle of democracy, as enshrined in our constitution is the right to vote. But I must also point out that that right comes with a registration regime that is fair, transparent and credible – acceptable to all, since it plays a crucial role in achieving undisputable election outcomes.

Therefore to cure the mischief of multiple registration and fraud that have characterised our electoral processes since 1992, the EC, in consultation with all stakeholders — including political parties, decided to adopt biometric technology for the 2012 general elections and subsequent elections.

To this end, the EC contracted Genkey’s large-scale de-duplication solution to help create a credible voters register which would stand the test of time. It also went ahead to adopt Genkey’s Verification solution to verify potential voters before they cast their votes.

Furthermore, to avoid mistrusts, the EC did an all-inclusive training by giving the party agents the same training in the registration processes and procedures as the commission’s own officials. And this was important because party agents were involved in monitoring the entire process.

Some diligence
Meanwhile in anticipation of challenging applicants’ qualifications by party agents, relative to their ages, nationality, or residential status, the District Registration Review Committee (DRRC) was set up to take care of these complaints. A challenged person was not given a voter ID card until cleared by the DRRC and any aggrieved person(s) who didn’t agree with the decision of the committee had the opportunity to appeal to the High Court.
Again, the voters register, after compilation, was returned to the various registration centres for exhibition.

This, for me, was the most crucial stage of the whole exercise – since it afforded the political parties the opportunity to act with “partisan-religiosity” to ensure that ‘ghosts’ names were completely exorcised from these registers. But ironically and as always, political parties remained inept at this very important exercise because of the kind of perceived games they play at their respective polling stations during registration. This is not only worrisome and shameful but also unpatriotic.

It is also instructive to point out at this stage that it is not without reasoning that polling stations are created in smaller communities. And the reason is simply that we live together in our various communities and therefore, know each other. Hence we have the capability and indeed, responsibility to identify and to challenge the eligibility of suspected foreigners and minors who attempt to register at these polling stations.

Therefore if we choose to sit unconcerned — election after election, and allow unqualified persons to register and to subsequently vote (thinking it would be beneficial to us), why then do we call for a new register when the results go against us? We created the monster in the first place and it has come back to devour us. You can’t have your cake and still wish to eat it.

Political parties could be likened to football clubs. The only time they identify and point out an unqualified player or bias of a referee is when they lose a match. Once they win, the referee is fair and they don’t care about any unqualified player.

These parties usually complain about the unfairness of the system only when they are beaten to their own game plan and all of a sudden, the EC becomes the “bad boy” that must be crucified. We forget that the EC only conducts elections with the kind of voters register we create for them.

Guaranteeing incorruptibility
It is, therefore, disingenuous for politicians to call for a new voters register after almost every election, when they are the ones who clandestinely manage to corrupt any new electoral system the EC adopts. We cannot continue using the same manipulable registration processes and expect to obtain credible registers.

Hence to make it difficult — if not impossible for foreigners and minors to register politicians must not just call for a new voters register but also propose innovative means to guarantee its incorruptibility.

I, therefore, agree with the call to revisit the National Identification Programme (NIP), for a much cleaner and generally acceptable voters register.

In fact, a number of different arguments have been advanced over the years in support of national identification cards. In addition to their obvious role in enhancing domestic and international security, proponents also argue that national ID cards help combat identity theft among voters.

All we need to do is to register all adult citizens for the National Identity Card (NIC) which will contain a unique ID number, to serve as an identification document to authenticate an individual's identity as a citizen of Ghana.

And in the case of newborns, a unique codified number is assigned at birth to their birth certificates and upon reaching the age of 18, a National Identity Card (NIC) with the same number is issued to check age cheating. For example, the first set of numbers will indicate the applicant's locality, the next set are serial numbers, and the last digit would be a check digit.


The writer is with the Ghana Society of the Physically Challenged-New Juaben, Koforidua
Writer’s E-mail: thegaboy2@gmail.com