GCPP supports compilation of new voters register
The Chairman and Leader of the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP), Dr Henry Herbert Lartey, has stated that the party endorses the decision by the Electoral Commission (EC) to compile a new voters register.
He has, therefore, urged Ghanaians to lend their support to the EC to undertake the exercise since the EC was in the best position to vouch for the proper state or otherwise of the electoral roll.
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Speaking in an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra last Saturday, Dr Lartey noted that the voters register was at the core of free, fair, transparent and credible elections that Ghanaians yearned for.
He explained that if after accessing the state of the current register, the EC was of the conviction that a new register was the best for the country, it was incumbent on all Ghanaians, especially political parties to support the move.
EC
The EC recently announced that it intended to procure a new Biometric Voter Management Solution ahead of the 2020 General Election.
It said it took the decision based on the advice of its IT team and external consultants to the effect that it would be prudent to acquire a new system rather than refurbish the current one.
In the view of the experts, the cost of frequent replacement of failing parts and the renewal of warranties through third-parties was comparable to the acquisition of a brand new system with full service and warranties.
The EC said in effect, the amount of money spent on refurbishing parts and renewing warranties could be used to acquire a brand new system that is robust, modern and durable user-friendly with full functionality and warranties.
It added that it was important to note that the equipment that the entire voter management system runs on, from enrolment, duplication, adjudication to voters verification was obsolete and no longer supported by their Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM).
It said the report from the immediate past vendors of the solution indicated that the commission would assume so much needless risks if steps were not taken to change the equipment.
Parties
However, the announcement by the EC had been met with resistance from some opposition political parties led by the National Democratic Congress because of the cost involved among other concernss.
Another group of political parties, led by the New Patriotic Party have also lend their support to the decision by the EC to compile a new voters roll.