Voters exercise: We can’t be convinced that new register is not corrupted – Col. Aboagye

A retired senior military official and security analyst has expressed doubt about the sanctity of the newly compiled voters register by the Electoral Commission.

Although Ghana’s electoral body set out to purge the 8-year-old voters register, Colonel Festus Boahen Aboagye (Rtd.) believes that circumstances surrounding its compilation have given rise to concerns about the status of the roll.

He stressed that some of the modes of requirements for registration was flawed since their validity could not be ascertained.

“We have an election process which is flawed. Looking at all the narratives in the media, you cannot be convinced that the register is not corrupted. The question of minors, it’s likely that some minors have entered the register. The question of the duplication for instance; yes, they may be able to clean it up, but it does damage to the integrity of the register,” he told GhanaWeb in an exclusive interview.

The security analyst lamented about the state of the country’s democracy, noting that he was disappointed about some of the incidents which have characterised the voters registration exercise.

He said:

“We’re still left with 7th December and how some people may resort to intimidation and other forms to prevent people from exercising their franchise.
So, all of these detract from the quality of Ghana’s democracy.”

Asked about his thoughts on the state of the country’s democracy and whether Ghana could still be touted as such he responded;

“Yes, we are democratic but after 63 years of independence, one would have thought that in this registration process, it will be incidence free.”

Colonel Festus Boahen Aboagye (Rtd.) will not be the only person who has raised red flags about the recently compiled voters register ahead of the December elections.

Many other stakeholders have lamented about the voters register and violent incidents which were witnessed at centres across the country.

Members of the Minority in Parliament have pledged to do everything in their capacity to remove minors they allege were registered in the electoral roll.

Minority Chief Whip and MP for Asawase, Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka disclosed in an interview with GhanaWeb that the NDC has in their possession evidence of underage students in schools across the country who were captured in the voters register.

He noted that the party will pursue the matter of ousting such persons when the Electoral Commission begins exhibition of the voters register ahead of the elections in December.