Jean Mensa, Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, says the new Voters' Register will leave no room for manipulation.
Jean Mensa addressing a forum in Accra organized by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Ghana, the EC Chairperson indicated that the compilation of a new voters’ register is motivated by the Commission’s desire to ensure a credible general election.
“A bloat in our register could have dire consequences for any election and as a people, we should go to an election with a mindset that it has to be credible. We should leave no room for manipulation and I believe that that is the essence of a biometric register.â€
“It is our desire that we leave no room for manipulation at the polling stations because, under the current situation, any manipulation could have dire consequences for our election in the sense that it could change the outcome of an election and these are some of the reasons that informed our decision to compile a new register.â€
The new Voters' Register ever since it surfaced has received stiff opposition from the National Democratic Congress as well as some civil society organisations.
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The NDC is currently challenging the EC in court on the exclusion of the old voters’ ID.
The EC presented the Public Election (Amendment) Regulation, 2020 (C.I. 126) to Parliament to amend C.I. 91 in order to change the current identification requirements.
On June 9, Parliament subsequently voted to allow the EC to use the Ghana Card and Passports as the only forms of identification for persons registering to vote after relevant Constitutional Instrument had matured.
The party fears this amendment will lead to many Ghanaians being disenfranchised.
The opposition party’s case will be settled on June 23 ahead of the compilation of the register on June 30.