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Tag: EC

  • Ghana Card for Voter Registration: Speaker has not summoned us to brief him on new CI – EC

    The Electoral Commission of Ghana has said that it has no knowledge of a directive from the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, asking the Commission and officials of the National Identification Authority (NIA) to appear before him with a briefing over the new Constitutional Instrument seeking to make the Ghana Card the sole document for the registration of voters ID.

    According to the Director of Electoral Services at the EC, Dr. Serebour Quaicoe, the commission does not operate with hearsay.

    He added that if indeed the Speaker has issues with the process, he must officially write to the Commission.

    Dr. Serebour’s comment comes on the back of a warning from the Alban Bagbin, asking the EC to forget laying the new C.I in parliament if they fail to meet the leadership of the House.

    But in the view of the EC, they cannot honour the Speaker’s request when they haven’t been officially invited.

    “We’ve not heard anything from the speaker. Officially they have to write to us if they have issues with our C.I. We have no letter from parliament and we don’t work with hearsay. We’ve already met the subsidiary committee and the budget committee but nobody has invited us to come because we can only go to parliament when we have been invited. It’s like going to somebody’s house without invitation,” Dr. Serebuor said in an interview with the host of Kumasi-based Oyerepa TV’s morning show, Kwesi Parker-Wilson.

    Dr. Serebour further explained that the move by the EC to make the Ghana Card the sole document for the registration of voters ID remains unchanged.

    He added that NIA officials have so far captured about 17 million Ghanaians into its system.

    “We met the NIA officials about 2 weeks ago and per the statistics, they have covered more than 17 million Ghanaians. The backlog now is about 400,000 that is persons who are yet to receive their cards after being registered. I can tell you that some of the district officers are empty now because the NIA officials have registered everyone in the district.”

    “People are no more complaining about the issuance of the card and we have two more years to go so we are still standing by our earlier position,” he added.

     

  • Minority demands clarity on EC’s voter identity data

    The Minority in Parliament is demanding the appearance of the National Identification Authority(NIA) and the Electoral Commission before the House to clarify concerns with the current data of Ghanaians under their control.

    The Minority says this is a result of plans by the EC to rely on the Ghana Card from the NIA for the 2024 General Elections.

    Speaking on the Floor of Parliament, the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, says statistics from the NIA must reconcile with that of the EC before any such a move could be undertaken.

    “Let us see the discrepancy and variance in your numbers because we will not accept any attempt by the Electoral Commission to disenfranchise any Ghanaian because they want to rely on an ID card which is not available to Ghanaians.”

    The Minority Leader also called on the house to constitute an ad hoc committee to oversee the implementation of recommendations of the Public Accounts Committee on the Auditor General’s Report.

    “Parliament must help the public purse in getting this committee constituted,” Mr. Iddrisu said.

    He added that there had been meetings with the Majority Leader, and they agreed that “probably we should get a retired jurist or a retired member of Parliament with good standing on account.”

    In his response, the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, said there is an existing committee to the effect and the Public Accounts Committee must present a report on their work for consideration by the house.

    The Speaker further said he has not received any briefing from the EC on its plans to use the data of the NIA for the elections.

    He noted until such is done, the EC “should forget about laying any such instrument in the House.”

  • EC’s move to revoke licenses of 17 political parties long overdue- Kofi Akpaloo

    The founder of the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG) has thrown his weight behind the Electoral Commission (EC)’s decision to revoke licenses some 17 political parties.

    Mr Kofi Akpaloo said the decision is the right direction.

    According to him, the move is “long overdue.”

    Mr Akpaloo speaking on JoyNews’s The Probe on Sunday said he fully supports the EC.

    To him, the Chairperson of the Commission and her deputy commissioners are discharging their mandate aptly.

    “In fact, it is long overdue. I think we have to applaud this new EC. They are actually doing the work of the Electoral Commission. Since they took office, they have been asking us to make sure every year we file our audited accounts and now they have come back crack the whip my asking us to have offices across the country,” he stated.

    According to the electoral management body, the 17 listed political parties have no national and regional offices as required by the Act governing political parties.

    This was after it embarked on nationwide exercise to inspect the offices of all registered political parties in Ghana in May and June this year.

    The EC subsequently invoked Section 15 (3) (c) of the Political Parties Act of 2000, Act 574, which mandates it to cancel the registration of Political Parties which do not have offices at the National and Regional levels.

    Affected political parties are:

    1. Democratic People’s Party (DPP)
    2. United Front Party (UFP)
    3. United Development System Party (UDSP)
    4. Every Ghanaian Living Everywhere (EGLE)
    5. Yes People’s Party (YPP)
    6. United Ghana Movement (UGM)
    7. Democratic Freedom Party (DFP)
    8. New Vision Party (NVP)
    9. Ghana Democratic Republican Party (GDRP)
    10. Ghana National Party (GNP)
    11. Power Unity Party (PUP)
    12. United Progressive Party (UPP)
    13. Reform Patriotic Democrats (RPD)
    14. People’s Action Party (PAP)
    15. United Renaissance Party (URP)
    16. National Reform Party (NRP)
    17. United Love Party (ULP)

  • Nigerian court nullifies PDP Zamfara governorship election, bars EC, INEC from accepting party’s nomination

    The Federal High Court in Gusau, Zamfara State has nullified the Peoples Democratic Party’s governorship primary election in the state held on May 25, 2022.

    The primary election was nullified on the grounds of irregularities and non-compliance with the party’s 2017 Constitution as well as its electoral guidelines for the conduct of elections.

    Justice Aminu B. Aliyu nullified the governorship primary while delivering judgment in Suit No. FHC/GS/CS/13/2022, filed by Dr. Ibrahim Shehu Gusau, Aliyu Hafiz Muhammad and Mallam Wadatau Madawaki against the purported primary election, which sought the order of the court to nullify it for breaching the constitutional provisions and other instant laws.

    Joined in the suit were the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Adamu Maina Waziri, Chairman, Zamfara State Governorship primary election of PDP; Col. Bala Mande (rtd), Chairman, Zamfara State chapter of the PDP; Dr. Dauda Lawal Dare and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as defendants 1 to 5.

    Justice Aliyu in a Certified True Copy of the judgment delivered on September 16, 2022, which SaharaReporters obtained exclusively, restrained the PDP from submitting the name of Dr. Dauda Lawal Dare, the 4th Defendant to INEC as its candidate for the governorship election in Zamfara State come 2023 unless a valid primary election is conducted in compliance with the 2017 Constitution and electoral guidelines of the PDP.

    The Plaintiffs/Applicants in the suit filed on July 6, 2022, had sought other reliefs “an Order directing the 1st Defendant (PDP) to conduct a valid Primary Election for Governorship position in Zamfara State under the full supervision of the 5th Defendant (INEC) and present the winner to the 5th Defendant for enlistment as the party’s candidate for the 2023 General Election in Nigeria.

    “An Order directing the 5th Defendant (INEC) to accept the Governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in Zamfara State for the 2023 General Election upon the valid conduct of Primary Election on the Order of Court.”

    But in its judgment, the court ordered: “A declaration is made that the 1st Defendant Governorship Primary Election in Zamfara State Claimed to have been held on 25th May, 2022 was conducted in flagrant violation of Sections 50(2) (b) & (3) of the Constitution of the Peoples Democratic Party, 2017 (as amended).

    “A declaration is made that the importation of staunch members of the opposition party into the 1st Defendant’s list delegates and the consequent failure to validly conduct accreditation of delegates and announcement of the total number of delegates accredited to vote at the 1st Defendant’s Governorship Primary Election in Zamfara State on the 25th May, 2022 is a substantial irregularity and same is offensive to part V8(c) (d) (e) & (6) of the Peoples Democratic Party Electoral Guidelines for the conduct of Primary Election.

    “An Order is made nullifying the Peoples Democratic Party’s Governorship Primary Election in Zamfara State claimed to have been held on the 25th May, 2022 on the grounds of irregularities and non-compliance with the 2017 Constitution of the Peoples Democratic Party as well as its Electoral Guidelines for the conduct of Primary Election.

    “An Order of injunction is made restraining the 1st Defendant from submitting the name of the 4th Defendant to the 5th Defendant as the Peoples Democratic Party flag bearer for the Governorship Election in Zamfara State come 2023 unless a valid Primary Election is conducted in compliance with the 2017 Constitution and Electoral Guidelines of the Peoples Peoples Democratic Party.

    “An Order is made directing the 1st Defendant to conduct a valid Primary Election for Governorship position in Zamfara State under the full supervision of the 5th Defendant and present the winner to the 5th Defendant for enlistment as the party’s candidate for the 2023 General Election in Nigeria.”

    The plaintiff had while arguing their case told the court that the electoral act provides a mandatory 21-day notice to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before the conduct of any primary election, adding that a non-compliance with this provision of the law renders any purported election, primary or nomination invalid.

    Section 85 (1) of the Electoral Act (as amended) provides that: “Every registered political party shall give the Commission at least 21-day notice of any convention, congress, conference or meeting convened for the purpose of electing members of its executive committees, other governing bodies or nominating candidates for any of the elective offices specified under this Act.”

    A source who is a legal practitioner said, “It is well-settled law that where legislation lays down a procedure for doing a thing, there should be no other method of doing it. Thus, where a notice of primary election given to INEC whereat a candidate emerged as a candidate is short of the mandatory 21 days, that candidate is not qualified to contest the election.

    “While surprisingly Zamfara state PDP conducts a primary election within three days which is purely a violation of electoral legislation and it’s highly nonsensical.

    “As it has been held that any violation of the 21 days mandatory notice goes to the root of the sponsorship or qualification of a candidate. See Dangana v. Usman. In that case, the qualification of the 1st Appellant to contest election into the Senate was attacked on the basis of the invalid primary election from which he emerged as a candidate and which primary election did not comply with the mandatory provision of Section 85 of the Electoral Act 2010.

    “Therefore, Dr. Dauda Lawal has breached the statute in order to impose himself as ‘a candidate’ of the PDP in the upcoming 2023 general election. In the eye of the law, his failure to meet the due process of law will surely invalidate his attempt to be regarded as a candidate sponsored by the PDP.

    In a nutshell, the purported nomination of Dauda Lawal was illegal and a nullity.

    “Also, the case of C.P.C. v. Ombugadu further underscores the point that for a candidate to emerge and properly acquire the right to be nominated and sponsored by a political party at an election, he ought to have emerged from a properly conducted primary election. Per Ngwuta J.S.C. thus: ‘…the sole purpose of a party’s primary election is the emergence of one of the contestants as the party’s candidate at the election…I subscribe to the above view and I wish to add that there can be no nomination of a candidate and acquisition of a vested interest in an inconclusive party primary election.’

    “In the case of Labour Party v. Wike, the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division reviewed and upheld the earlier decision of the Tribunal on its interpretation and application of Section 85(1) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended). In that case, the Labour Party had sponsored a candidate for the governorship election but the notice it gave for its primary election was less than the 21 days prescribed by Section 85(1) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended). The party and its candidate lost the election and the party presented the election petition subject matter of the appeal.

    The court viewed that the Labour Party lacks the locus standi to institute an action since it fails to comply with the 21-day notice as provided by the electoral act.

    “In conclusion, the above position of the law has shown that only a candidate who duly complied with electoral provisions can participate in an election.”

    Source:Saharareports.com

  • Make room for suggestions from NDC – Prof. Gyampo to EC

    Professor Ransford Gyampo, a Political Science lecturer at the University of Ghana wants the Electoral Commission to dialogue with the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) on the use of the Ghana card as the source document for voter registration.

    The NDC has vehemently opposed the use of the Ghana card saying many voters will be disenfranchised.

    It is on the back of this that the University of Ghana Professor thinks it will be advisable for the Electoral Commission to “make room for the suggestions from the NDC.”

    The current mode of identification for registering to vote include a passport, a national ID, an existing voter ID or two guarantors.

    The EC is seeking to review the law to replace these documents with the Ghana Card.

    The draft C.I. titled: Public Regulations 2021 is expected to regulate the upcoming continuous voter registration exercise.

    The new Constitutional Instrument that could enforce this change is in Parliament and has been referred to the Subsidiary Legislation Committee of Parliament.

    The NDC is worried because not all Ghanaians of voting age have the Ghana Card.

    Source: Citinews

  • EC has failed to make political parties accountable to Ghanaians Akoto Ampaw

    A Human Rights lawyer, Anthony Akoto Ampaw, says political finance regulation has failed in Ghana and the Electoral Management Body(EMB) must be blamed for the persistence of this problem.

    Speaking on transparency and accountability in governance on GTV, Akoto Ampaw said the manner in which the parties are financed and funded is worrisome, adding that it is part of a political elite consensus.

    “…I do not see in the immediate or near future internal reforms in political parties who have become self-aggrandizement” Lawyer Akoto Ampaw said.

    Constitution of Ghana, Article 55 (14)

    i. Political parties shall be required by law (a) to declare to the public their
    revenues and assets and the sources of those revenues and assets; and

    (b) to publish to the public annually their audited accounts. 

    Aside from political parties routinely failing to comply with the provisions of the law, the authorities with the statutory mandate to check and punish violations of the law, namely the Electoral Commission and the Attorney General, have consistently shown no interest or inclination to enforce compliance with the law.

    Akoto Ampaw thus urged Ghanaians to demand better governance.

  • EC wants to compile new register for 2024 elections with Ghana card as sole ID – Felix Kwakye alleges

    Former Deputy Information Minister under the N.D.C in the John Dramani Mahama administration, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, has alleged that the Electoral Commission is seeking to compile a new voters register for the 2024 elections with the Ghana card as the only source of identification.

    According to him, this comes barely two years after the Commission spent over $80 million on a new register for the 2020 elections.

    In a Facebook post, he said there must be something really amiss with Jean Mensah and her colleagues in the leadership of the Electoral Commission with regards to this decision.

    He alleged that the “object, of course, is to manipulate that register to save the blushes of this hopeless government which is destined to be thrown out by the electorate in 2024.”

    Below is his Facebook post

    Source:ghanaweb.com

     

  • EC officials arrested in the Northern region for registering people at private residence

    A 26-year-old Mumuni Abilla, an Electoral Commission official, has been arrested by the Northern region police for conducting registration in his residence.

    The suspect, a data entry clerk at the Kpanshegu registration centre in the North East Gonja District of the Savannah region had the BVR kit in his room at Vittin in Tamale.

    Investigations by the police revealed that the suspect and his accomplice, one Mohammed Yushaw Kongsoha, a 32-year-old also a registration officer at the same centre had already registered 12 people.

    The said BVR was supposed to be operating in the Savannah region but found its way to the Northern region by the two suspects.

    Confirming the incident to Starr News, the Northern regional Crime officer of police, Superintendent Otuo Acheampong said the two when questioned said they wanted to register those people to prevent them from joining queues at the registration centre.

    The two according to the police would be sent to court after they have been charged with the appropriate offences.

    Meanwhile, the NDC in the Savanah region accusing the suspects of doing the bidding of the NPP.

    Abdula Malik Bansintale, communications officer of NDC in the Savannah region, noted that the party will continue to be on a watch to make sure that, the exercise does not favour the NPP.

    The BVR has since been handed over to the Electoral Commission.

    However, both EC directors in Northern and Savannah regions have declined to speak on the matter indicating their headquarters would respond to it.

    Source: Starr FM

  • Biometric Voter Registration kits are brand new – EC

    The Electoral Commission on Thursday, July 16, 2020, said the Biometric Voter Registration kits currently in use are new and not old as being speculated.

    A statement copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra said the new Kits were completely different from the old kits in terms of look, appearance and functionality.

    Comparing the two, it said the new ones were smaller than the old, with three handles while the old kit had one.

    The new kits have an identification number and QR Code and cannot be removed from the case while the old version has no ID number and is removable.

    The statement said the new kits could print daily number of registrants making data collection easy and had charging point in front with two led alert lights but the old one had none of those features.

    “For the information of the public, all the Kits being used for the registration exercise are brand new. There is not a single old absolute Kit in the field,” the statement said.

    It said as part of its procurement of a new Biometric Voter Management System it bought 8,500 Biometric Voter Registration Kits and all had been deployed onto the field.

    It said it was untrue the assertion by some individuals that 40 per cent of the BVR Kits being used were old.

    The Voters Registration Exercise, which began on June 30 and would end on August 6, is in the third phase and had registered more than 4.5 million applicants.

    The registration is being held in over 3,000 centres and expected to register about 15 million eligible applicants.

    Source: GNA

  • Facial recognition is part of voters registration exercise EC

    The Electoral Commission (EC) has reacted to a report published on social media which sought to cast doubts about the existence of the Facial Recognition Feature as part of the voters registration exercise.

    According to the Commission, it obviously seems the writer lack an understanding of technology.

    The Commission says facial recognition feature was part of the voter registration exercise.

    It says in a statement that “we wish to assure the general public that as part of the voters registration exercise, the Commission is capturing both the fingerprints and faces of applicants.”

    The Commission added in a statement that “as such, applicants will be verified using their fingerprints and/or faces.”

    The Commission clarified that facial recognition is not solely function of the hardware equipment that is employed, adding that “it is used with the facial recognition software that drives the process. Specialized 3D hardware is not required for facial recognition.

    Source: Daily Guide Network

  • EC denies issuing voters ID card to Asian man

    The Electoral Commission (EC) has denied issuing a voters ID card to an Asian man.

    According to the EC, the voters ID card making rounds on social media and bearing the photo of an Asian male is fake.

    The Commission says in a statement that the said ID card “has been photoshopped to superimpose the image of the Asian male onto the face of card.

    In a statement, the Commission says it did not issue the card to the Asian man.

    It says the card that bears the photograph of an Asian male has the ID No: 2809012504.

    The Commission says the card was originally issued to Nana Kweku Okai Brako, clarifying that all of the photographs on the EX voters ID cards have a blue background.

    Source: Daily Guide Network

     

  • EC padding figures, a figment of NDC’s imagination – Atik Mohammed

    PNC General Secretary, Atik Mohammed has jumped to the defence of the Electoral Commission (EC) over claims by some National Democratic Congress (NDC) members that the Commission is “padding figures” in the ongoing voter registration exercise.

    According to them, in some registration centres, the registrant numbers exceed those who actually queued up to register and therefore accuse the EC of cooking figures with the aim of rigging the 2020 elections.

    It could be recalled that, before the commencement of the registration exercise, the NDC had accused the EC of conniving with the National Identification Authority (NIA) to rig the elections for President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his NPP government.

    The party further accused the Electoral Management Body of trying to disenfranchise some eligible Ghanaians and even went to court to stop the exercise but the Supreme Court overruled their legal requests giving the EC the green light to conduct the exercise.

    However, it appears the EC Chairpersons’ nightmares are not over as the party has raised numerous concerns over the exercise and one of them is that the Commission is tampering with the figures.

    Addressing the issue on ‘Kokrokoo’ on Peace FM, Atik Mohammed stressed that the ”padded figures” claims are only a figment of the imagination by the political opponents.

    He cautioned them to stop peddling falsehood about the EC.

    “Sometimes, we exaggerate episodes with the view to winning some political capital but it doesn’t help in the long view. To say that the Electoral Commission is padding figures . . . it means they have added non-existing numbers to the figures they recorded but it is far from the truth . . . Sometimes, we have some pet words but if you want to use your pet words, you need to be circumspect and assess your choice of words whether or not it will be disturbing. Because the person is just crazy about the word ‘pad’, so he wants to use the word ‘padded’ but your excitement to use your pet words can have some unintended outcomes. So, it is not true that the Electoral Commission padded figures,” he stated.

    He also strongly held that the current EC esteems the transparency of the process and will do no such thing as rigging the exercise or elections.

    “The Electoral Commission has created a transparency regime relative to this registration that every Monday and every, I think, Wednesday; they will hold a seminar to update Ghanaians about what’s going on. There is nothing to hide . . . And they have also made it clear that if you have any concerns, send it for them to address it. Someone who wants to steal from you needs no permission from you.”

    ”If the Electoral Commission wants to rig ballots or rig the registration, which I don’t even understand how that could happen but if they had an ill motive, why would they want to engage the public? Why would they want to update the public on what’s happening?” he further questioned.

    Source: Peace FM

  • EC registration exercise isn’t war, stop ‘killing’ people – Mireku Duker

    Member of Parliament for Tarkwa-Nsuaem constituency, George Mireku Duker has advised Ghanaians participating in the ongoing registration exercise to desist from engaging in violence.

    Hon. George Mireku Duker expressed bitter worry over recent clashes at a registration center in the Bono Region.

    One person was reportedly killed in Banda in the Bono Region days ago after some persons associated with the NPP Parliamentary candidate for the constituency, according to sources, had physical confrontations with a brother of the Member of Parliament for the area, Ahmed Ibrahim, over undisclosed reasons.

    The deceased is said to be a teacher training graduate who was returning to the area to inform his parent about his completion of studies and was innocently embroiled in the scuffle.

    Police personnel guarding the registration center also reportedly sustained injuries from the clashes.

    Addressing the issue on Peace FM’s ‘Kokrokoo’ on Thursday, Hon. Mireku Duker questioned why any person should lose his or her life over the registration exercise and reiterated that if any person has reason to believe a participant is not a Ghanaian, he or she can dispute the person’s nationality by picking a challenge form at the centre.

    “The registration is not war. When someone comes and is not a Ghanaian, challenge him. There are challenge forms there; that is the most important thing. You challenge the person; you don’t fight the person. But to hear that someone has pulled a knife and stabbed somebody, what is all this? We need to develop. We need to grow as a nation,” he emphasized.

    Source: Peace FM

  • EC must address registration challenges – GFL

    Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL) has called on the Electoral Commission(EC) to address challenges arising from the ongoing nationwide voter registration exercise.

    The exercise, which was in its third phase, commenced on June 30, 2020, and expected to end on August 6, 2020, would replace the existing register which had been described as bloated and not good enough.

    Mr Abraham Koomson, Secretary General of the GFL, told the Ghana News Agency that his outfit foresaw such challenges and cautioned the EC but they did not listen.

    Mr Koomson added that “obviously the ongoing exercise is fraught with serious problems of duplication and multiple registration. Malfunction of equipment has been widely reported and causing undue delays in registration centres”.

    He said the purpose and reasons given by the EC to justify the compilation of a new register had been woefully defeated considering the massive protestations, violence and fatalities associated with the exercise.

    “We wonder whether all eligible citizens will be able to register by the deadline of 6th August 2020 to enable them participate in the 7th December 2020 general elections, ”he added.

    The GFA called for more registration machines, increase the number of registration centres as well as if possible, extend the date to prevent unnecessary delay which they said was the cause of long queues, delays, and violence at the various centres across the country.

    According to the GFL, failure on the part of the EC to immediately address the challenges and put in proper measures could lead to intensified protestations if people were not able to register by the deadline through no fault of theirs.

    Source: GNA

  • EC exceeds target

    The Electoral Commission (EC) yesterday commenced a biweekly update engagement with the media and announced that the registration centres were exceeding their daily targets of 100.

    Some centres recorded about 200, a figure which was beyond the expected target. In all cases, the newly acquired BVRs are performing faultlessly, a departure from previous times, Dr. Serebuor Quaicoe, Director of Electoral Services at the EC, said during the “Let the Citizen Know” novelty at the conference room of the EC headquarters in Accra.

    Biweekly Effort

    At the biweekly engagements, the Chairperson of the EC, Mrs. Jean Mensa, said it would provide an opportunity for the dissemination of relevant information about how far things had gone with the ongoing registration exercise.

    The engagements to be held on Wednesdays and Fridays, which is the first in the history of election management in the country, the chairperson said, would be a means of demystifying the operations of the commission.

    Necessary Adjustments

    The feedback to be garnered from such engagements, she went on, would offer a chance for making necessary adjustments to the work of the commission.

    “The engagements would afford the opportunity for timely information transmission and to demystify the operations of the EC and to remove the cloak of secrecy surrounding it,” she said.

    No Mysteries

    She said the commission intended to open up to all Ghanaians because after all there were no mysteries about its operations, adding that this way trust could be built in the commission.

    This would also remove the tension and suspicion about the work of the commission.

    During such engagements, the chairperson said, it would put out details of the exercise across the country.

    She said “we are keen to provide facts and let you be factual. We trust that going forward you would put Ghana and no other entity first.”

    No Sensationalism

    She called on the media to not be sensational about issues, as she spelt out the importance of the media in the work of the commission, adding “we should all be on the side of truth.”

    It was an engagement which had the chairperson supported by her various schedule officers who took turns to brief the media about the journey so far.

    No Mediocrity

    Ms. Mensa said the commission had no room for mediocrity on the part of its officers, and those found not to be doing well were quickly removed.

    Those working on the field were constantly monitored to ensure efficiency, she added.

    The ongoing registration exercise, she explained, was part of the electoral process.

    For an election to take place in December, such an exercise could not be overlooked, she said, adding that other processes include the exhibition of the register for registrants to inspect prior to elections.

    More Registration

    Dr. Eric Bossman Asare, Deputy Chairperson in charge of Corporate Affairs, said every eligible Ghanaian would be registered and so people should not leave their areas for others. This phenomenon, he said, reared its head at the University of Ghana campus, led to many turning up at registration centres to be applicants from other locations.

    In addressing the issue of Ghanaians outside the country, he said the EC had done all that was required of it regarding the registration and voting of citizens not residing here.

    ROPAL Factor

    According to him, regarding ROPAL, he said “the court mandated the EC to do it. We have done all that is required of us regarding the C.I. It is left with Parliament to deal with it now,” he pointed out.

    Samuel Tettey, Deputy Chair in charge of Operations, announced that the commission was in the second phase of the registration exercise.

    In his overview of the registration exercise so far, he said EC officials engaged in the ongoing assignment had been efficient and skillful.

    The foregone, coupled with the quality of the equipment being used, he said, had ensured the speedy registration of applicants.

    “In some areas, as many as 280 applicants are managed,” he said with a glee of satisfaction.

    According to the success being chalked up today, which is unlike what obtained in previous times, explaining that there were a few challenges at the registration centres.

    He gave thumbs up to the environments of the registrations, which he went on, was peaceful and officials of the centres reporting to work on time.

    Main Challenge

    The only challenge faced so far, he pointed out, was the difficulty by some applicants to observe the social distancing protocol in some centres, coupled with insufficient information about movement schedules of the registration teams.

    However, he said steps had been unfurled to address the overcrowding challenges in Accra in particular.

    It has turned out that the overcrowding challenges are limited to some centres at Ashaiman, in Tema and some parts of Accra.

    District officers have been asked to hire chairs as another means of managing the overcrowding features at some centres.

    Additional BVRs, he announced, were quickly sent to areas which showed features of overcrowding and difficulty in adhering to social distancing.

    The chairperson of the EC had also said that the EC had engaged the IGP to support with security personnel to enforce the social distancing as well as the nurses who manage the temperature guns at registration centres.

    Source: Daily Guide Network

  • EC to open nominations for Presidential, Parliamentary elections in October

    The Electoral Commission(EC) will open nominations for both Presidential and Parliamentary elections between the first and second week of October, MyNewsGh.com has confirmed

    According to the Director of Elections, Dr Serebour Quaicoe, the EC by law is to open nominations not less than 30 days or not more than 90 days to elections.

    “So, we want to have 50 days to the elections to do the nominations. And the reason is that, once you have over a month to do it, you have to provide notice of poll and also provide the ballot papers. So, once we are able to do the nominations, first and second week of October, then we have time to print the ballot papers and notice of poll”, he disclosed on News File on Joy FM monitored by MyNewsGh.com

    Subsequently, he said, “by our programme, we intend giving the final register to the political parties by the 6th of November, 2020”.

    “In addition to that, we need to compile the list of special voting for those who qualified, because by the nature of their work on the Election Day they cannot go to the polling stations to cast their vote. That will be done probably the first day of September or around that”, Dr Quaicoe emphasized.

    He outlined further that “people will be given opportunity to apply for special voting. Also, people will apply for transfer of votes, especially the students…the final year students…a lot of them are 18 years and above and so will be given the opportunity to register and transfer of votes. That means the CI94 will be amended. We have already made proposal and is before parliament.”

    “People will also like to apply for proxy and that will be done 50 days to the elections”, he added.

    “All these will be done before we have the final voters for the various polling stations to be used”, he concluded.

    Source: My News GH

  • No new constituencies EC

    The Electoral Commission (EC) says it does not intend to create new constituencies this year ahead of the December 7 general elections and that claims of such assertion are false.

    Deputy Commissioner in charge of Corporate Services, Dr. Eric Bossman Asare stated that the Commission has no such plans to do that, emphasizing, “We are not creating new constituencies.”

    Speaking with the media in Parliament on Tuesday, June 16, the deputy EC boss explained that the Commission is seeking to realign the new electoral areas and polling stations created as a result of creation of the new regions.

    Members of the Committee on Subsidiary Legislation met on Tuesday, June 16, to consider a draft Representation of the People (Parliamentary Constituencies) Regulations, 2020 said to have been brought to Parliament by the EC.

    This has fueled speculations that the Commission intends to create new constituencies in addition to the 275 existing ones.

    However, Dr. Asare said “What we are basically doing is that because new electoral areas were created it meant new polling stations were created. We have to make sure that we have a C.I. that will cover all that.”

    “No new constituencies are being created by the Electoral Commission as it is being speculated,” he said in an answer to a question on the draft Representation of the People (Parliamentary Constituencies) Regulations, 2020.

    Source: Daily Mail

  • Civil Society Organization calls on CID to investigate EC boss

    David Kumi Addo , The Executive Secretary of “Care” has called on the CID to investigate EC’s Boss, Jean Mensah with immediate effect.

    Following the arguments of the EC upon which it wants to discard the biometric register which produced two Presidents, H.E John Mahama in 2012 and H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in 2016 and some members of Parliament as well, Mr Kumi has mentioned such claims as invalid.

    Mr Kumi mentioning to the Press stated that the inflexibility and aggressiveness of the EC has only created a potential source of violence. He added that he “feels” the EC is being engineered down this slippery slope by the New Patriotic Party(NPP).

    He argued that, the decision made by Jean Mensah and the EC to go ahead and register over one million voters a couple of months into election 2020, when she knows the register will not be needed is a deliberate move to cause financial loss to the state.

    In his opinion, Mr Kumi said that perhaps the EC has forgotten that the register is a biometric one with finger prints and other unique details of voters, making it impossible for dead men to vote. This he said in response to the argument proposed by the EC that the names of 600,000 dead persons are in the old register,hence, the need for a new one.

    However, David Kumi believes the only valid reason the EC wants to improve upon its technology is to add facial recognition as a tool of identification. And even that is the poorest form of security as compared to the already existing fingerprint feature in use, he said.

    Source: CharityNews

  • An alleged letter from EC to NPP on start date of the new voters ID card is released to the public

    The Electoral Commission of Ghana has finally decided on the date of commencement of the new voters registration. In the letter release by the EC to all parties, the impending voters registration will commence on 30th June, 2020.

    A letter has surface from a reliable source which is signed by the Deputy Chairman, Corporate Services, Dr. Bossman E. Asare to the ruling party, New Patriotic Party to announce to them the said date of the new voters registration commencement.

    The letter which was written yesterday has now been brought out to the public. Below is the content of it.

    It says “I bring you warm greetings from the Electoral Commission and trust that this letter finds you well.

    This letter comes to inform you that the 2020 Voters Registration Exercise has been scheduled to commence on Tuesday, the 30th of June 2020. The registration will be held at all centres and District Offices of the Electoral Commission throughout the country. Should you require any information, do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you”.

    Below is a copy of the full letter.

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    Source: Enter10Gh

  • EC pilots new voters’ registration exercise

    The Electoral Commission has kicked off a pilot exercise on Tuesday, June 2, 2020, in all 16 regional capitals in the country.

    In a statement, the EC said the essence of the exercise being conducted in all the regional offices of the Commission, is meant to identify problems associated with the new biometric registration system, including its effect under various weather conditions and find ways of mitigating them.

    The EC says “all issues identified will be forwarded to the Commission at the national level for the necessary rectifications to be made before the commencement of the exercise at the end of this month.”

    “All Ghanaian citizens of 18 years and above and of sound mind are expected to register where they reside when the exercise begins; with either a Ghanaian passport or Ghana card as proof of identification or have two guarantors who have already registered as voters so they can register.”

    “Safety measures will be put in place at all registration centres throughout the country to protect applicants, who are mandated to wear nose masks to the registration centres,” it stated.

    The Commission has therefore appealed to all Ghanaians for their cooperation to make the upcoming exercise successful.

    Source: Daily Guide Network

  • Brouhaha over a new voters register: Ghanaians share their views

    The intention of the Electoral Commission (EC) to compile a new voters register ahead of the 2020 general elections has generated a lot of controversies between the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

    The NDC is accusing the EC and the ruling government of conniving to rig the next elections through the compilation of a new register.

    They contend that there is limited time to the general elections and also the new requirements needed by Ghanaians to be on the register will disenfranchise a lot of people.

    However, the NPP disagrees with this stance and states that the current voters register is fraught with so many challenges, hence the need of a new one.

    Though the NPP admits that the register was the one used in their historic electoral victory in 2016, they argues that it has many non-Ghanaians on it therefore a new one has to be compiled.

    This bickering among the two major political parties over the register has spilled over to conversations by civil society organisations and well meaning Ghanaians.

    Pulse Ghana, therefore sampled the views of some Ghanaians on the necessity of a new voters register.

    Amadu, Electrical Technician: “I’m confused as to why the Electoral Commission is bent on compiling a new register, because we used the old register in the last election of Assemblymen and Unit Committee members just last December.”

    Randy, Journalist: “The EC is an independent body and mandated to compile a new register anytime they deem fit, therefore, I don’t see the issues the NDC are raising. I think the EC should be allow to do their work.”

    Kwaku, Nurse: “I think the EC should take into account the coronavirus pandemic and sheve its plans to compile a new register. I don’t think it is safe for people to queue and get registered, it can escalate Ghana’s coronavirus cases.”

    Slyvia, Marketer: Honestly, I’m indifferent on this issue. I don’t actually care what the EC and politicians do. They can go ahead and do whatever they want.”

    Tony, IT Specialist: “A new voters register will give some credibility to our elections and I am all for it. Also new technology for elections abound and I think we should look at upgrading our systems to make our elections perfect.”

    Yaa, Beautician: “If a new register will be the best for Ghana then why not? I am for anything that will inure to the benefit of Ghana and its people.”

    Kojo, Banker: “We should use the old register for the December elections and compile a new one later. I feel the time to the next elections is short for the compilation of a fresh voters register. It will cause a lot of problems.”

    Source: pulse.com.gh

  • Find other ways to quicken voting process, not reducing duration Otukunor to EC

    The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has urged the Electoral Commission to reconsider its plans to review the duration allowed for voters to cast their ballot downward.

    The EC is considering reducing the duration by an hour to improve the security and speed of the polling process.

    Traditionally, polls open at 7 am and close at 5 pm.

    Ghanaians urge EC to enforce electoral laws

    But Deputy General Secretary of the NDC, Peter Boamah Otukunor, in a Citi News interview said the EC should be exploring more sophisticated measures to quicken the polls.

    “How can you suggest that [because] people stay in the queue after 5 pm the best way to solve it is to reduce the time for voting?”

    “We should look at more sophisticated ways of quickening the voting process so that the voting process will not be cumbersome so that people can vote quickly, rather than reducing the time.”

    On the other side of the political divide, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Director of Elections, Evans Nimako welcomed the move on behalf of his party.

    But he called on the EC to consult stakeholders on the matter.

    Minority wants Electoral Commission to improve data system

    Evans Nimako, who declared support for the decision, advised advice from all interested parties before coming to a conclusion on the issue.

    “I think for us at the New Patriotic Party, this would be welcoming news because it is important that the management of election day voting activity is looked into properly. However, it also critical that the Electoral Commission will extend the consultation so they should come to the platform for stakeholders to have their input.”

    Source: citinewsroom.com