The Electoral Commission (EC) has presented the political parties with copies of the Certified 2020 Voters Register that would be used for the December 7 elections.
Additionally, the EC has ‘symbolically’ provided each Ghanaian household, and the 17 million-plus voters captured in the register copies of the voter roll.
There are a total of 17,029,971 voters on the newly compiled Voters Register.
Every Ghanaian has therefore been provided the opportunity to scrutinize the register at their own convenience and familiarize themselves with the names of the voters at their various polling stations.
Ghanaians would be able to access the Voters Register by typing this link: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=16J2Pm9RNIkMcFRVAJP-RBWPdNvVxVQLS in their computers and android phone browsers.
This initiative by the Jean Mensa-led EC is a welcome novelty that would go a long way to eradicate the confusion that has consistently bedeviled the voters’ register because of the secrecy with which the document has been handled in the past.
This would also help address the phenomenon that has seen people challenging voters at their various polling stations during elections because, with copies of the register, references can be made to determine the identity of those on the register if need be before the election day.
The EC has expressed confidence in the credibility and integrity of the 2020 Voters Register and indicated it collaborated and cooperated with the citizenry at all levels particularly at the district, as well as magistrates, to ensure only eligible Ghanaians participated in the registration process.
According to the Commission 32,621 persons were placed on a multiple and exception list out of which 18,619 engaged in multiple registrations while 14,002 engaged in various illegal practices including under-aged voting and registration by non-Ghanaians.
18,619 names on the multiples list refer to individuals and the number reflects the total number of multiple registrations.
In an address to Members of Parliament before the House rose Sine Die, the EC Chairperson, Jean Mensa, promised the election management body was addressing this anomaly.
She indicated the Commission was 95% ready to conduct a successful, credible, fair, orderly, and peaceful election in December.
According to her, a wide variety of election materials for the elections including ballot boxes, thumbprint pads, stationery, identification jackets, polling station booths, rechargeable lamps, indelible ink, educational posters, seals among others have been procured.
Distribution of the items, she said, had started and stressed that due to the thorough planning mechanisms employed, 95% of the distribution to various locations across the country has been done with the exception of the ballot papers.
Madam Jean Mensa also disclosed that printing of the certified copies of the 2020 Register was underway and assured the process will be completed for distribution well in time for December 2020 election, which has been fulfilled. The political parties have already been provided a soft copy of the register on hard drives since 6th of November 2020
