"Let My Vote Count" Demo For A New Register

COMMENTARY ON THE DEMONSTRATION BY PRESSURE GROUP, "LET MY VOTE COUNT" FOR A NEW VOTERS REGISTER 

Today's demonstration by an Alliance of Pressure groups demanding a new voters register ahead of the 2016 general election is yet another plus for Ghana's democracy. The protest march which was earlier intended as picketing Parliament and the offices of the Electoral Commission was converted into a demonstration following an injunction secured by the Police against the intended action. Police had to secure the injunction from court after negotiations with the organisers "Let My Vote Count" broke down. The demand for a new voters register is in line with NPP's claims that the voters register is bloated. According to the party, more than 76 thousand Togolese nationals are on the register. The ruling NDC however insists calls to compile a new register have no basis. At an Inter Party Advisory Committee meeting last month, the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Mrs. Charlotte Osei, urged the political parties and interested Civil Society Organisations to submit proposals on the issue. The Progressive Peoples Party urges the EC to compile any future voters register using the National Identification Authority, NIA database. This it said, is the surest way to prevent foreigners and minors or under aged Ghanaians from getting onto the register. The People’s National Convention, PNC also agrees with the proposition. At the opening session of the Bar Conference underway in Kumasi, the Asantehene Otumfuor Osei Tutu asked the Ghana Bar Association to offer professional counsel devoid of partisan interest on the voters register to protect the integrity of the electoral system. To him, cost should not be a stumbling block in pursuing what is best and desirable saying, it should be possible for the country's external partners to fund the compilation of a new register if it becomes necessary for such an exercise. The Presbyterian Church of Ghana at a news conference in Accra urged the EC to as a matter of urgency put in place the necessary measures to sanitise what it describes as a contentious voters register even if it means compiling a new one. 

Following protests by the Togolese opposition, over the country's bloated register, Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama, then ECOWAS Chairman had to intervene for the election to be postponed for an audit of the voters register arguing that it is important Togo goes into the election with a register which enjoys the confidence of all parties. Electoral disputes have been the bane of most African countries. The quest for power at all cost has been the nemesis of hitherto progressive leaders and opposition parties. Countries like neighbouring Burkina Faso, Cote d' Ivoire, Burundi, Kenya and Ethiopia have experienced upheavals as a result of disagreements over electoral matters and related issues. The 2012 general election in Ghana could have been explosive had the opposition NPP not gone to court to seek a settlement. We have reached a stage where we cannot allow differences over electoral issues to derail the forward march of our democracy. Democracy works well when it is by the people, of the people and for the people. The Electoral Commission must be allowed the peace and space to look at issues relating to the voters register with an independent eye. Protests, picketing and other forms of dissension only go to fuel tension in the country.  Our collective will to work to deepen and consolidate the rule of law in the country will be greatly enhanced if we allow institutions of state to work according to their constitutional mandate. 

The Police must be commended for not stopping Pressure Group, “Let My Vote Count” and its associates from expressing their dissension over the voters register through demonstrations but using the court system to disallow them from picketing Parliament and the offices of the Electoral Commission. This is the way we want our democracy to go, through that our nation will thrive. The 2016 general election is crucial for the two leading political parties, NDC and NPP and they will do everything whether fair or foul to clinch victory. This makes it imperative for state institutions entrusted with ensuring national peace and stability to do all in their power to create a level playing field for all contestants. The Electoral Commission which will be the umpire for the election must not allow itself to be pushed by any political party for its parochial gain. The national interest must supercede all other consideration to consolidate our democracy.

BY: JUSTICE MINGLE, A JOURNALIST.