In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Electoral Commission (EC) has given its strongest indication that the country is going to have a new voters register for the upcoming 2020 election.
Last week, the managers of the elections released a number of health safety protocols that should be observed during an upcoming voter registration exercise whose date was yet to be fixed.
Towards this end and to ensure a safe and secure registration exercise, the commission is expected to roll out six key measures to curb and prevent the spread of COVID-19 during the national exercise.
They are the compulsory wearing of the face mask before entering the registration centre, temperature checks, hand washing, social distancing, scanner wipes and all persons who complete the registration process will also be provided with hand sanitisers before leaving the registration centre.
All EC officials will also be in appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
This means that “with COVID or no COVID”, the EC is signalling a direction for the nation to begin to think of having a new voters roll for the 2020 polls.
Best foot forward
Ironically, while it appears the EC is firmly putting its best foot forward in the preparation towards this year’s polls, political parties do not appear getting set for the polls.
With barely six months to the December 7 crucial polls, the expectation of many is to see political actors lace their boots for a contest to win the hearts and minds of the electorate.
But this is not happening and we do not see most of the political parties getting set for any election.
Most of the political parties do not even have their elected national, regional and constituency officers in place, not to talk of their parliamentary candidates and flag bearers and their running mates.
Political parties and politicians cannot stand or sit idle and wait for the end of COVID-19 before getting their act together.
This is because any political party that does so and keeps waiting for COVID-19 to end will see defeat clearly staring it in the face.
Hyper partisan
Rather, we are seeing a political climate that is hyper partisan. On countless occasions, the EC has given the assurance that it is practically impossible for it to rig any election in favour of any political party and is in no position to conspire with any political party or institution to rig elections as the electoral processes remain transparent at all levels.
Yet, depending on which political party is in opposition, the election management body is not trusted.
While in 2016 it was the New Patriotic Party (NPP), then in opposition, that was up in arms against the EC, today it is the National Democratic Congress (NDC) which consistently argues that the new voters roll will deny majority of Ghanaians their voting right even though the EC maintains that it is the best way of ensuring it delivers on its mandate of free, fair, credible and transparent elections.
Since the Fourth Republican dispensation, it has always been the NPP and the NDC that are mostly guilty of making voter registration exercise a complex and complicated issue.
Voting and counting
Rather than placing much premium on voting and counting, as well as training of officers to man polling centres, much energy and resources are dissipated on issues that may be secondary while the primary concerns are not addressed at all or addressed very late in the day.
Already, the EC has submitted a Constitutional Instrument (C.I) to Parliament to pass a legislation that will enable citizens to use the Ghana card and the passport for registration into the voters register.
For the EC, the use of the national identification card and the passport is essential to aid in the elimination of unqualified names in the register, thus calling for the amendment of the CI 91.
Moreover the new CI, if passed by Parliament, will afford guarantors the opportunity to guarantee for 10 applicants instead of five as stipulated in the current CI.
This makes it possible for applicants without the Ghana card and passport to also register.
This is where I expect the political parties not only to use their time and resources but step up their game plan by way of educating their followers on the electoral arrangements towards the 2020 polls.
IPAC meeting
Fortunately, tomorrow the EC will be meeting with the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC), one of its primary stakeholders. As the two bodies meet, I entreat all the stakeholders to attend the meeting with an open mind.
There should be no need for entrenched positions or any walkouts. At the IPAC meeting, all must endeavour to contribute to making Ghana remain the torch bearer in democratic governance in Africa.
Representatives of the political parties must go there with ‘Ghana First’ at the back of their minds. We cannot always be at the throat of the EC demanding to have our way, and that is why we must be ready for compromises.
Notwithstanding its independence also, the EC must at all times seek to build consensus on the compilation on a new voters register to ensure peace before, during and after the 2020 polls.
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