New Generation Floating Voters Association of Ghana (NG-FLOVAG) has expressed their concern at the proposal of the Electoral Commission (EC) to compile new biometric voters register considering the limited time frame of 10 months to the general elections.
The logic to this proposal must consider analytically the economic and security interest to the nation, while being credible to exploradic spending of the innocent citizen tax payer’s money, which affects the very fragile peaceful democratic tending maturity.
We do affirm that the register is old enough to deserve major attention, in order to curtail corrupt menace elements of corrupt advantage that associated to its old age, but not at this material moment because it will further impose economic pressure to the national economic status.
We believe the current register credibility is not that worst that cannot survive this year election except a new is compiled, if it for the fact that Electoral Commission has identified a major economic, security, Electoral corrupt results and or insecurity if not compile a new register, then Electoral commission should point those challenges out to be dealt with instead of calling for a new register compilation.
New Generation Floating Voters Association of Ghana (NG-FLOVAG), by our objectives mandates, to represent floating voters, serves as floating voters monitoring team in all elections activities between Electoral Commission of Ghana and political parties for transparency and accountability, to increase the credibility of elections results.
The civil and the grassroots society of floating voter’s organization which we stand for, however, recommended that the EC should rather channel resources on upgrading the verification system, to improve the efficiency in voting rather than the exaggerated expenses to be used in procuring a new biometric voters register.
New Generation Floating Voters Association of Ghana (NG-FLOVAG) has observed the demonstration from some political parties, against Electoral Commission (EC) decision to compile a new biometric voter’s register in less than 10 months to the general election year.
This followed when the EC announced at an Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting held on Wednesday, March 27, 2019, that it was planning to compile a new voter’s register for the 2020 presidential and parliamentary elections.
We at New Generation Floating Voters Association of Ghana (NG-FLOVAG), believe that although the EC is an independent body and in exercise of the power conferred on it by article 45 of the 1992 Constitution to compile a register of voters and revise it at such period as may be determined by law, nevertheless, the EC is subject to rule of law.
Therefore, the rule of law at the discretion law must not be a political play of words.
In that, the Registration of Voters Regulation, 2016, (C.I. 91) provides under regulation 9(2) that the EC shall in consultation with registered political parties determine the modalities for the registration of
voters.
The law enjoins that the EC cannot on its own motion or initiative compile a new voter’s register without discussions with political parties on the way forward.
That is why New Generation Floating Voters Association of Ghana (NG-FLOVAG) a non-partisan organization, will respect the position of the law, on the interest of floating voter’s credible compilation of a new register but not within this limited space of time because the law gave a time frame.
Moreover, the consequential issue to be dealt with is whether or not the existing biometric voter’s register is credible. From the statement of the EC, the reason to compile a new biometric voter’s register is not the lack of the credible existing register but rather the register is ‘overstretched’.
The word “overstretched” does not qualify the need for compilation of new register, given the fact that this current register was the one used to conduct the 2016 general elections, and the recent District Assembly elections, we at New Generation Floating Voters Association of Ghana (NG-FLOVAG) believe that it is very unreasonable to compile a new biometric voters register with less than 10 months left to the general elections on the sole grounds that the existing biometric voters register is overstretched
when it is credible.
Further, we are of the view that the EC should rather channel resources on upgrading the verification system, to improve the competence credible election results, economic interest and eliminate element of corrupt election result with strong upgrading security in the biometric voters register.
Ghana is a haven of peace and stability in Sub-Sahara Africa because of our strong democratic institutions like the EC. We believe that there is the need for further dialogue among stakeholders in the upcoming general elections in 2020 to ensure that there is free, fair and transparent elections.
Source: New generation floating voters association of Ghana
