The Electoral Commission (EC) has set the middle of May to compile a new voters’ register for the presidential and parliamentary elections in December 2020.
Director of Electoral Services at the Electoral Commission, Dr. Serebuor Quaicoe, revealed this on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen programme.
His comment comes in the wake of opposition against the compilation of the new voters register from opposition political parties led by the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
A counter group made up of some 13 political parties including the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has, however, backed the EC, insisting the new register is the panacea for free and fair elections.
The CSOs opposed to a new register, among other things, cite time constrict and waste of taxpayers monies to buttress their point.
But Dr Serebuor Quaicoe said time was not an issue for the EC because they have set 43 days for the exercise to begin in April and end in May 2020.
He explained that based on the 2012 experience, registration officers will spend 10 days in each polling station, days he says are enough to cover everyone.
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“10 days at polling stations from our 2012 experience is enough to capture everyone; it is tried and tested,” the EC Director of Electoral Services stressed.
Dr Quaicoe spoke about the difficulty the EC is already facing in cleaning the register of over one million ghost names due to opposition by key stakeholders.
The new system, he said, will avoid multiple registration and impersonation ahead of the crucial elections in 2020.
“The current machines and data we have are not as efficient as we expected so a new register will happen,” he added.
Dr. Quaicoe warned that if the current voters’ register remained in its current form before the 2020 general elections, it would ensure that only those who are verified biometrically get to vote.