CODEO satisfied with conduct of BVR exercise

It noted that the introduction of the biometric register was expected to help minimise, if not totally eliminate, the challenge of double and multiple registrations and voter impersonation that had bedeviled the country’s electoral process over the years.

“CODEO supports the call by the EC for minors to stay away from the polling station on the elections day”, it said and called on political parties to educate their supporters and entreat them to discourage minors from voting.

It added that while the biometric register might not be a perfect document, its quality was substantial and therefore an improvement that would contribute to credible and peaceful 2012 elections.

The coalition commended Ghanaians, the Ghana Police Service and civil society organisations for their role in helping to ensure the success of the biometric registration exercise.

It said notwithstanding the coalition’s positive findings, the EC must ensure that its staff was properly trained in the use and management of the verification equipment on the election day to avoid unnecessary equipment malfunctioning.

The coalition also called on the EC to intensify the dissemination of information through the media outlets to increase voter/public awareness on the use of the verification equipment so as to bolster confidence in the verification process and the use of the biometric register.

It also called on the EC to publish in the newspapers the names and pictures of all declared offenders of multiple registrations and declare them expunged from the register.

The coalition also called on the Police and the Attorney General’s Department to speed up investigations and prosecution of alleged perpetrators of violence during the BVR exercise and publicise the process to send a message of non-tolerance of violent behaviour to the public to enhance public confidence in the justice administration institutions in the country.

It said CODEO was in the final stages of training and deployment of about 4,000 of its members to selected polling stations throughout the country on the election day.