Electoral Reforms Won't Include New Voters Register - Asiedu-Nketia

General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Johnson Asiedu-Nketia says proposals submitted for reforms in Ghana's electoral process does not include a replacement of the voter’s register.


According to him, even though members of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) for instance have been 'loud' about the need to change the register, their own suggestions for electoral reforms submitted to the Electoral Commission did not include the replacement of the voter’s register.

The NPP’s flagbearer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo, earlier in January said for a credible election to be held in 2016, the voters register needed to be changed.

According to Nana Addo, the current voters register had been bloated since the new voters register figure of 14 million voters was far in excess of what it should be, considering the fact that the 2010 population census captured the total number of Ghana's population as 25 million.

But speaking on Radio Gold Tuesday morning, Mr Asiedu-Nketia noted that, even the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) own suggestions for electoral reforms did not include the replacement of the voter’s register.

“None, and I am telling with a fact that, none of the proposals talk about the replacement of the voter’s register,” he said.

According to Mr Asiedu-Nketia, who is also a member of the 10-member committee formed by the Electoral Commission to spearhead changes in the electoral process, the reforms that seem feasible include the manner and timeliness of the update of the voter’s register, as well as recruitment and training of electoral staff and the issue of spoilt ballot.

He noted that the issue of spoilt ballot should be of major concern to the nation and not a replacement of the voter’s register.

“…spoilt votes had the third highest votes. The most dangerous part is that, the spoilt ballots are threatening to overtake the deciding ballots. This is a major issue that should engage the attention of the nation,” he said.