Voters roll: UK denies '10% bloat' comment

British High Commissioner to Ghana, Jon Benjamin, has said a report published by some newspapers, which suggested that the British government has said Ghana’s register of voters is bloated by 10 per cent is false.

The report said: "The British Government has acknowledged that Ghana's controversial voters' register is bloated by, at least, 10 per cent."

The reports cited a copy of a letter it said emanated from the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, addressed to some concerned Ghanaians, who petitioned Prime Minister David Cameron, indicating that: "We are fully aware of the concerns regarding the electoral register. We note that the average population percentage in Ghana of those eligible to vote is approximately 52%, which is 10% higher than continental average."

The reports also said the correspondence, which bore the signature of Vicki Morley, Desk Officer for Ghana, said the British High Commission in Accra also stated that: "We stand ready to assist the Electoral Commission in ensuring that concerns can be addressed."

An official statement from the commission has condemned the newspapaer indicating that, "Ghana’s voter register is a domestic issue for Ghana’s Electoral Commission to consider with political parties"

The statement which was released on Jan 25 also said that Britain will not interfere with the political processes in the country adding that, "we (Britain) will remain entirely neutral and happily work with any democratically elected government.

In a reply to the authenticity of the reportage through a tweet, the UK High Commissioner earlier indicated that: "This is yet more inaccurate reporting. The voters' register is a purely Ghanaian domestic issue."

The issue of the register of voters has been a hotly debated topic as Ghana's biggest opposition, New Patriotic Party (NPP), has requested for the compilation of a fresh register ahead of the 2016 elections due to some 76,000 individuals the party identified as Togolese nationals in the register.

But the Chairperson of the Electoral Commissioner (EC) has indicated that the country will not adopt a new voter roll after a committee constituted to investigate the claims of foreigners on the register advised against the move.

We are disappointed that certain media outlets continue to report inaccurately the British Government’s views, and have wilfully misrepresented what we have said. Ghana’s voter register is a domestic issue for Ghana’s Electoral Commission to consider with political parties. There has been a full and public debate on the current register and the Electoral Commission recently published a report on this.

The British Government is clear that the forthcoming elections in Ghana are a sovereign, domestic Ghanaian issue. We will remain entirely neutral and happily work with any democratically elected government.

Below is the full statement by the commission

We are disappointed that certain media outlets continue to report inaccurately the British Government’s views, and have willfully misrepresented what we have said. Ghana’s voter register is a domestic issue for Ghana’s Electoral Commission to consider with political parties. There has been a full and public debate on the current register and the Electoral Commission recently published a report on this.

The British Government is clear that the forthcoming elections in Ghana are a sovereign, domestic Ghanaian issue. We will remain entirely neutral and happily work with any democratically elected government.