IDEG urges EC to address voter registration challenges

The Electoral Commission (EC) has been advised to keep addressing the issues and worries raised by political parties, the public, and other stakeholders about the restricted voter registration drive by the advocacy and research group, the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG).

That would, in IDEG’s opinion, contribute to preserving the integrity of the voter registration for the polls on December 7.

A seamless and nonviolent voter registration process is essential to credible elections, according to the IDEG, which stated as much in a statement titled “Upholding Peaceful and Credible Voter Registration: A Collective Responsibility,” which was signed by its Senior Research Fellow, Kwesi Jonah.

He believed that confrontation and unresolved conflicts resulting from voter registration had planted the seeds for violence related to elections over time; therefore, “it is crucial to prevent violence at all voter registration locations.”

He said voter registration was a constitutional right and a first step to becoming a voter; as a result, “the limited voter registration exercise constitutes one of the major activities on the 2024 election calendar released by the Electoral Commission of Ghana”.

Limited voter registration

On May 7, 2024, the country’s limited voter registration exercise began, with the goal of adding 623,000 eligible individuals to the electoral register.

The 21-day registration exercise, which is intended for individuals who have turned 18 and those who have never registered to vote, is anticipated to take place at 1,053 registration locations. These locations consist of 268 EC district offices and 785 extra locations in difficult-to-reach areas that were decided upon in collaboration with political parties.

This year’s limited voter registration exercise is anticipated to end on Monday, May 27. IDEG, with a mission to consolidate democracy and good governance in Ghana, mobilized and deployed volunteers as voter educators and observers in all 16 regions of the nation to monitor the limited voter registration exercise, according to Mr. Jonah, who is also the organization’s Head of Advocacy and Institutional Relations.

He pointed out that the Elections Situation Room’s initial feedback and media coverage of the exercise brought to light a few difficulties, such as instances of equipment malfunction and network failure that delayed voter registration in some regions of the nation; sporadic run-ins between political parties and, occasionally, with law enforcement; and the exploitation of some young voters to register illegally.

Therefore, he has pleaded with all parties involved—including first-time voters—not to give in to pressure from politicians and their allies to partake in illicit or violent acts.

In a similar vein, Mr. Jonah asked parents and guardians to teach their kids and wards about voter registration procedures and associated infractions. “Politicians and their allies should abstain from enlisting minors and first-time voters in unlawful registration,” he stated, urging the media to continue serving as unbiased information sources free of misinformation and fake news that would damage the legitimacy of the entire process.