Public Agenda (Accra)
22 August 2008
The Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG), has urged all stakeholders, especially the Electoral Commission to purge the register of the names of dead, under-age and aliens from the voter register.
IDEG charged political parties, Civil Society Organizations and Ghanaians to "take advantage of the exhibition of the register to help purge it of unwanted names". It also recommended the active involvement of the Unit Committees throughout the country in the "identification of eligible voters in the communities."
IDEG also appeals to the EC to grant the District Election Officers the mandate to mop up eligible voters who were not captured in the main registration exercise.
These proposals were contained in a preliminary release by IDEG, in its findings of the just ended registration exercise of eligible voters. The institute, which deployed some 200 volunteers and 25 supervisors in 25 constituencies, across seven regions, is currently analyzing the reports.
Four constituencies in the Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, Upper West, and Volta Regions were covered. The observation also captured two and three other constituencies in the Northern and Western Regions respectively.
IDEG's findings largely indicate that the registration process was peaceful and smooth, in the constituencies covered. However, specific challenges, faced during the process included shortages of registrations and printing materials, faulty cameras, slow and sluggish registration and loss of registration materials in some centres, were record.
The reports also pointed out the lack of permanent security, under-age and alien registration, intimidating presence of NPP and NDC party officials at the centres, and obstructive conduct of party agents across the constituencies studied.
The study which identified four broad areas of concern as arising from the findings, bothers on civil right issues, integrity of the voter register being, issues of the EC's Capacity to manage the general elections and those concerning peace and security.
IDEG cited the action of the two major political parties in their bid to cling to power return to power as one of the underlying factors that accounted for the challenges the August 2008 voter registration exercise faced.
Other factors included the EC's underestimation of the scale and enormity of the task of the whole registration exercise.
For instance, the study identified that many SHS 3 students who wrote their exams in May/June were on holidays as at the period registration exercise was ongoing.
Similarly, some migrant fishermen who had missed the exercise in the previous ones arrived from neighbouring countries at the time the exercise was underway, and thus took advantage of it.
The institute found that the demand for voter ID was increased because of it being demanded as a condition for registering with the National Identification Authority.
It also noted attendance at most centres was overwhelming because of the current high premium placed on the voter ID cards as alternate national ID card for every day transaction.
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