Reconsider the decision to establish a new register – CODEO

General News on Thursday, April 4, 2019

Source: asempanews.com

2019-04-04

The Coalition of National Election Observers (CODEO) wants the Electoral Commission to reconsider its decision to establish a new register of voters.

CODEO submits that a new independent voters list of the national identity card would be a waste of resources.

At a meeting of the Inter-party Advisory Committee, the Commission announced last week that it would create a new register for the 2020 presidential and legislative elections.

This initiative has already generated some opposition from the National Democratic Congress (NDC), which believes that the proposal was not discussed at the IPAC meeting.

However, the EC stated that it reached the decision in consultation with the various political parties.

He added that the new registry will include improved features, making it worthy of Ghanaian democracy.

In response to the EC announcement, the NDC requested the withdrawal of the EC's press release, insisting that no consensus was reached on the issue.

According to the party, no such decision was taken at the IPAC meeting.

"In fact, the constitution of a new electoral register was only mentioned by way of the EC in a discussion on the restricted registration. There has certainly been no "thorough deliberation" on this issue, "said the party in a statement.

CODEO's national coordinator, Albert Arhin, believes the country would save a lot of money if the EC stays true to the Ghana Card, the main means of identification in next year's polls.