Everything clearly indicates that the current state of the country’s voter register cannot reliably guarantee the electorates any credible election 2016. The register is heavily pregnant with the names of not only deceased persons and minors but also, foreigners who dubiously used National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) cards as a form of National Identity card to register themselves onto the electoral roll.


From my previous publications, it has been well established and proven beyond reasonable doubt that NHIS cards cannot be used for national identity card unless otherwise stated by our Constitution. NHIS cards are issued to all those who at a point or another, may need access to the nation’s healthcare system. Therefore, nationals and both legal and illegal immigrants can avail themselves of the opportunities offered by NHIS card.


I have always been drawing on my British and other Western countries experience to argue how NHIS card as called in Ghana and NHS card as known in Britain cannot under the Sun, the Moon and the Stars, be used for national identity card. Subsequently, it is wrong on the part of both the Electoral Commission, especially their questionable leader, Mrs Charlotte Osei, and the NDC, to seek to argue that it is right to maintain the names of all those who used NHIS card to register on the electoral roll. It is not!


Going on to the Supreme Court, I am not the least enthused with what seems to be indecision on their part vis-à-vis the integrity of the existing voter register. The Supreme Court seems not to have the clout to order the Electoral Commission to do the right thing. The Supreme Court judges seem to dither, not taking firm and clear cut decisions on the electoral register.


What is the point of continually sewing patches onto an old weak cloth torn in several places? Could the money and energy spent doing the alterations or patches not well buy you a new and stronger cloth? Will you not end up spending more money and energy mending the never going-to-last weak cloth than purchasing a completely new one?

Having sought the opinion of the public readers on the cited analogy of an old and torn piece of cloth, would it not have been much better and more convenient if the Supreme Court had had the gut to order the Electoral Commission to produce an entirely new voter register? Could it not have caused less stress, less money, less doubtfulness among discerning Ghanaians, less time but more acceptance to Ghanaians if a totally new voter registration was initiated?

In future, the Supreme Court must be extremely farsighted to make rulings that will leave lasting positive impact on the minds and bodies of Ghanaians than making half-baked decisions as is obvious with their former directive to the Electoral Commission of which many a Ghanaian gave their own varied interpretations.

Now, the Supreme Court on Thursday 23rd June 2016, ordered the Electoral Commission to provide it with the list of names of all those who registered their names on the voter register using NHIS cards as their national identity card. Does this not amount to patching the existing problem as it was in the case of the over-worn cloth?

I suggest that a new voter register is made rather than continuing with these unnecessary requests for deleting the names of deceased persons, minors and foreigners or people who registered onto the electoral roll using NHIS card.

The NDC colluding with the Chair of the Electoral Commission are trying to be smarter than the Supreme Court but this should not be the reality. Subsequently, I expect the Supreme Court to be forthright on the voter register. The current one does not meet the expectations of the people except those planning to rig election 2016 in favour of President Mahama and the NDC.

Will the content of the underlying web link not be enough to convince you, the public reader that a new voter register is required, rather than the hard-to-do and doubtful ways of cleaning the register as directed by the Court but tactfully misunderstood by Charlotte Osei and her accomplices?

http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/EC-registration-data-destroyed-CODEO-450115


Charlotte Osei is a total disgrace to womanhood – colluding to facilitate election rigging in favour of President Mahama and the NDC to the detriment of the suffering Ghanaian masses.


Rockson Adofo