Data from registration exercise justifies push for new register - EC

The Electoral Commission says data from its just ended nationwide registration exercise justifies its push to have a new electoral roll compiled.

At the Commission’s ‘Let the Citizen Know’ press briefing Friday, Deputy Chairperson Dr Bossman Asare said the Commission has registered about 16.6 million persons during the exercise.

This, he stated, is consistent with data from the Ghana Statistical Service regarding the total number of Ghanaians above the age of 18.

“According to the Ghana Statistical Service’s estimates, Ghanaians who are at least 18 years are 17,624,686, which is approximately 57% of the estimated population of almost 31million.

“This means the numbers we are on track to register are well be within the threshold of those who qualify to vote,” he said.

Many people including the minority in Parliament and other members of the opposition NDC, policy think tank IMANI Africa, Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA) and others had kicked against the compilation of the new voters’ register.

The groups were at the forefront of the push to ensure the EC does not undertake the exercise insisting it is a waste of scarce resources.

Dr Asare explained that if calls had been heeded to maintain the old voters’ register, which had about 17.6 million registrants and organise a limited registration exercise, the commission would have added about two million names to the register.

This would have given the country a total number of almost 19.6 million registered persons, as compared to the current figure of 16.63 million he added.

“The Commission is again pleased to say that the registration exercise has achieved the objective of deepening the country’s democratic ethos,” he said.

According to Dr Asare, the Commission will organise a mop-up exercise during the weekend for people who were unable to register in the timeline that had been given.

“Since the Commission has announced the mopping up of the exercise on Saturday and Sunday, the protocols will still apply at all the district offices of the Commission to protect applicants and our officials.”