EC panel hears more views from political parties
More political parties Friday expressed varied views on the calls for the compilation of a new voters register.
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While some of them felt that the current register was bloated with minors and foreigners and needed to be replaced, others insisted that the supposed bloatedness of the register could be corrected by auditing.
They made their views known at the stakeholders’ forum on the voters register in Accra.
Those who were in support of a new voters register were the Progressive People's Party (PPP), the Convention People's Party (CPP), and the National Democratic Party (NDP).
The People's National Convention (PNC), United Front Party (UFP), Ghana Freedom Party and the EGLE Party were those against.
PPP
The National Secretary of the PPP, Mr Kofi Asamoah Siaw, said the current voters register had problems with the inclusion of minors, foreigners and double registration.
He said the PPP wanted a compilation of a new voters register based on the National Identification Authority (NIA) database.
NDP
The acting General Secretary of the NDP, Mr Mohammed Frimpong, said the voter register had been bloated over the years.
For instance, he said, the 56 per cent voter population in Ghana was too high compared to an average 40 per cent in Africa.
Mr Frimpong said the National Identification Authority (NIA) had to be supported to have a database of all Ghanaians to facilitate the registration of voters.
CPP
The Deputy Director of Communications of the CPP, Mr Yaw Adu-Larbie, said the CPP was in support of a new voters register.
He said the unusual and unrealistic increase in the number of votes cast in some constituencies was worrying.
PNC
The General Secretary of the PNC, Mr Bernard Mornah, said the party did not believe that a new register was the cure for a bloated register.
He said the register could be cleaned if all stakeholders collaborated to remove the names of minors, foreigners and the deceased from it.
"If foreigners are found in the register, get their names expunged and prosecute them," he said.
UFP
The General Secretary of UFP, Mr Listowel Nana Poku, said the current voters register was the most credible in the Fourth Republic and there was no need for the compilation of a new register.
EGLE Party
The Director of Communications of the EGLE Party, Mr Francis Lokko, said the party supported the cleaning of the voters register instead of the compilation of a new register.
He said once the Electoral Reforms Committee was working towards improving the country's electoral system, it should be allowed to collaborate with the EC to cleanse the register.