Existing register can be used for 2020 Elections - Concerned University Lecturers
The Concerned University Lecturers, Ghana (CULG), a group comprised of over 100 public university lecturers have kicked against the decision of the Electoral Commission to compile a new voters’ register for the upcoming elections.
In an open letter to the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Ghana, the group said It is worried about the decision to compile a new voter's register given that the country's constitutionally scheduled Presidential and Parliamentary elections are six months away.
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According to the group, there is no evidence to suggest that the existing register which has used to conduct several elections, including the 2012 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections, the 2016 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections and the District Assembly Elections in 2019, cannot be updated and used for the 2020 elections.
“So far, we have not seen any evidence to suggest that an updated version of the existing register cannot perform the same role in the 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary elections, as the outcomes of these elections have been described by your office and other stakeholders as some of the most credible elections in our country’s history," the group argues in the letter signed by 101 lecturers.
“We are worried about the international image of our country and wish to draw your attention to the negative effects of your decision to compile a new voters’ register, as that conduct will violate Section II Article 2 (1) of Protocol A/SP1/12/01 on Democracy and Good Governance Supplementary to the Protocol relating to the Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management, Resolution, Peacekeeping and Security, which forbids ECOWAS nations from making any extensive changes to electoral regimes in the last six (6) months before elections”.
They contend that there is the likelihood that any process of voter registration will defeat the principles of social distancing introduced to curb the spread of the Coronavirus.
Bigger worries
The group said it was even more worried about the EC's decision to limit registration eligibility requirements to passports and Ghana cards as this would disenfranchise nine million Ghanaians.
“We are aware that the NIA currently registers persons fifteen (15) years and above and that can introduce underage persons into the register. Passports are a privilege in Ghana and only about two million Ghanaians (6.7% of the population) possess them, and it is possible that most holders of passports are also holders of Ghanacards. Taken together, holders of passports and Ghanacards will be approximately nine million citizens. If the registration requirement is limited to these two documents, you risk denying about nine million Ghanaians the right to vote in December 2020”.
Read the entire letter below;
