Miss Georgina Opoku Amankwa, Deputy Chairperson, Finance and Administration of the Electoral Commission (EC), has said the Commission would not fail its responsibility to serve as an independent referee in the electoral affairs of the nation.
She said it is unimaginable for anybody to think that commissioners of the Electoral Commission would willfully sanction wrong procedures or do anything that could bring turmoil to the country.
Speaking on behalf of Mrs Charlotte Osei, Chairperson of the EC, at a seminar for women groups and persons with disability, on the impending limited registration exercise, Miss Amankwa said “we are doing everything to have the elections done on November 7.
The seminar, under the theme, “Enhancing inclusiveness in Ghana’s electoral process”, was supported by USAID.
Miss Amankwa said the Commission was currently living up to its mandate of cleaning the register and this process is guided by statutes.
She said there would be an opportunity to challenge the legitimacy of people on the register after the limited registration exercise which begins from April 28 to May 8.
Miss Amankwa said the challenge procedures to follow include District Registration Review Committees and the appellate High Court.
She urged representatives of the women groups and the PWDs to urge those qualified to register, warning that there would be sanctions against unqualified people found registering.
Mr Dogbe Selormey, Volta Regional Director of the EC, said the age (ie 18) set to be qualified to register was inviolable, saying “you register when you are a minute younger and you have gone against the law.”
He said the new legislation would allow more people than before, including the registration officer, to challenge a candidate’s eligibility for registration.
Suggestions, opinions and questions asked during an open forum include, the need for the EC to strengthen it’s Public Relations Department, waiver of fees for the replacement of missing voter identity cards and the education of election officers on ballot papers.
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