“The sweetness of a pudding is in the eating”, so the saying goes but in election administration the sweetness of the pudding is in the making but not the eating. This is to say good election is not determined by what takes place only on the election day but mainly by what goes into the preparation of the election before the polling. One of such pre-election activities that is very important in terms of cost and its ability to influence the acceptability of election result is the revision of voters register.
The recent hullabaloo and the heated arguments that were generated on the media landscape as a result of the allegation of bloated registers in thirteen out of 130 constituencies and the seriousness with which the Electoral Commission tackled the issue, is a strong indication that the sensitivity and importance of the voter register cannot be over-emphasized. It is in this light that in its preparation towards the conduct of free and fair elections, the EC is embarking on the revision of the voters register.
What this exercise actually aims at is to bring on board all those who qualify to vote but for one reason or the other are excluded from the voters register. Unlike the general registration whereby all the centers are opened, this revision of the voters register will be at the electoral area bases, meaning the registration centers are not going to be as close to the applicants as was the case during the general registration in 2004. This means that applicants will be required to travel longer distances to the registration centre to register this time round.
The little inconvenience and discomfort that applicants will go through should not in anyway discourage them from registering since that cannot be compared to the advantages to be gained in taking part in this exercise. Registration gives one the power not only to vote but also to contest in an election. It also makes it impossible for one to be a political appointment holder. Apart from making the voters register up-to-date and credible at the national level, it gives the election management body the reliable basis for preparation for the polls in terms of resources.
From the above analysis, it goes without saying that this exercise is very important and one looses a lot by not taking advantage of this exercise to register. However, to those who are yet 18 years, they should be patient as their time will surely come because any attempt to register, constitutes an electoral offence punishable by law. Those who have lost their voter identity cards or who have moved from their original place of registration to another should not register again but rather contact the registration officials for appropriate assistance.
The public must be mindful that even though this exercise is a limited registration all the electoral laws are in full operation. This means that all the electoral offences like double registration, underage registration, impersonation, illegal possession of electoral materials, disruption of the registration process and others, remain the same as well as the punishment associated with them. The success of this revision of voters exercise cannot be done single handedly by the Electoral Commission alone, but it calls for the collective and conscious efforts of Ghanaians, as a civic duty to ensure that the voters register is clean and credible.
In the light of this, all the stakeholders namely political parties, traditional authorities, Assembly members, Unit committee members, religious leaders and the general public are therefore being called upon not only to get involved to make sure that this exercise is a success but also to religiously and jealously guard against any attempt either by commission or omission to render the current voters register ineffective for its purpose. By this way, we will have a credible voter’s register which will constitute a solid foundation for good elections in December and beyond.
By: Gabriel Dei, District Electoral Officer – Kwaebibirem
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