PREPARING FOR A CREDIBLE REGISTER (FEB 23)

THE Electoral Commission (EC) last week hinted that it had initiated moves to switch from manual to electronic form of voter registration before the next general election in 2012.
The plan, according to the EC, was intended to address the problems related to paper registration and help secure the integrity of the electoral process more effectively.
The benefits of an electronic form of registration definitely are enormous. Apart from the fact that it has the potential to ensure a more credible electoral process, it saves a lot of time.
The challenges of the paper registration system have always come up for discussion whenever the EC organises registration exercises. The cumbersome nature of the manual process clearly provides enough justification for the introduction of the electronic system.
Last year, the registration exercise was largely characterised by long queues and confusion because the processes were very slow and certain elements in the political parties took advantage of that to undermine the integrity of the electoral process.
It can hardly be disputed that elections generate some of the most passionate moments. Political fanatics, during such occasions, are ever sensitive to the slightest infraction or perceived infraction that they believe can affect the fortunes of their candidates or political parties.
Ensuring a smooth and credible registration exercise will impact significantly on the conduct and credibility of the election itself and reduce the number of conflicts and the level of tension that sometimes characterise elections in the country.
Thus, any exercise aimed at making the process more reliable and acceptable must be welcomed by all Ghanaians, especially as there are strong indications that Ghanaians now believe in multiparty democracy.
This latest decision by the EC is yet another indication that the country’s electoral process is still evolving and careful and prudent steps have to be taken by all relevant stakeholders to bring it in line with best practices.
As noted by Mr David Kanga, the Deputy Chairman of the EC in charge of Finance and Administration, the days of appealing to people’s conscience and moral values as a way of ensuring smooth and clean elections were over, stressing that because society had become more sophisticated, it was necessary that sophisticated methods were used in the process of elections.
While the DAILY GRAPHIC applauds the determination of the EC to meet the challenges of the time, we also wish to remind it that migrating to the electronic process may require more voter education, especially in areas with high levels of illiteracy.
There is also the need to bear in mind that in areas where there is no access to electricity, there could be obvious challenges and the necessary steps must be taken to address such challenges.
Indeed, electronic systems also come with their own technical challenges and it is the hope of the DAILY GRAPHIC that these have been thoroughly thought through to ensure smooth voter registration exercises when the country finally makes the switch.