The National Chairman of the People’s National Convention (PNC), and a key member of the inter-party Resistance Against New Voter Register, Bernard Mornah, has called the reasons espoused by the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) for the need for a new voter register, bogus.
He made these comments in an interview with one of the hosts of the all new ‘Happy Morning Show’ Samuel Eshun.
‘’ The argument that people have worked with their hands over time and their finger prints will not be compatible with the verification machines is neither here nor there. After the compilation of a new register will people not go back to their menial jobs’’ he quizzed.
He also said the face recognition feature the EC is talking about does not also warrant the compilation of a new register.
‘’ We have seen advancement in technology, but who throws away their information because of that. You migrate the information collated over time to the latest medium. Even if they are saying the biometric machines are obsolete, we still do not need a new register’’ he stated.
When Samuel Eshun asked him about the legitimacy of the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) with regards to the compilation of a new register, Bernard Mornah recounted the contributions of IPAC to peaceful elections in the country.
‘’The concept of IPAC was conceived by the Commission based on experiences gained from the 1992 general elections. The EC came under intense criticism, especially from political parties in opposition, ranging from the electoral process or the conduct of the polls through to suspicion. IPAC was, therefore, formed in March 1994 to bring together representatives of the political parties on a monthly basis with members of the EC to discuss and try to build a consensus on electoral issues.
Since then IPAC has championed massive reforms from opaque ballot boxes to now transparent ballot boxes’’ he noted.
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By: Bridget Mensah
