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Outspoken New Patriotic Party (NPP) stalwart, Paul Collins Appiah-Ofori, says the move by the Electoral Commission (EC) to compile a new voters’ register ahead of the 2020 elections is totally ‘needless’.
 
He questioned the timing and the register readiness to be used in the December 7, polls.
 
“This compilation should have been done somewhere last year, it cannot be possible this year looking at the time frame to the election,” he registered his disapproval in an interview with Neat FM’s morning show ‘Ghana Montie’.
 
Upgrade your IT system and register
 
Mr. Appiah-Ofori suggested that the EC should open the electoral register for fresh voters to register, remove names of the dead and foreigners, and update the existing software to make it more efficient.
 
“The register and the IT systems only need an upgrade and not to be discarded entirely,” the former Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa constituency MP said.
 
He also encouraged the EC to replace faulty equipment and acquire new hardware to augment the existing stock and work with the existing systems.
 
EC to start compiling new register from June
 
The Electoral Commission has confirmed to the various political parties that it will commence its intended registration exercise next month despite opposition from some political parties who are seeking to have the exercise halted.
 
In an Inter-party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting at its headquarters on Wednesday, 27 May 2020, the EC said it intends using 30 days spanning from June to July this year to complete the exercise ahead of the December general elections.
 
The EC has also rolled out mechanisms to ensure strict adherence to various essential protocols in light of the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure the safety of Ghanaians.