EC suspends new voter register over COVID-19 outbreak
The Electoral Commission (EC), has suspended the compilation of the new voter register over the coronavirus outbreak.
The exercise was scheduled to start on April 18, through to the end of May.
But after a meeting with political parties on Wednesday, March 25, the commission’s Director of Electoral Services, Serebour Quiacoe, said, “… because of the pandemic, we can’t do it on April 18.”
Addressing journalists after the meeting with the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC), Mr Serebour said the EC was looking to conduct the registration from the end of April, but this would be done based on the advice from health authorities.
“We are with the Ministry of Health, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and other experts; they are also monitoring the situation advising us.
“When it gets to a time when they think the situation is fertile to go ahead with the registration then they tell us…” he said.
He, however, ruled out the possibility of using the existing voter register for this year’s general election.
“We are going ahead with the new one,” he said.
According to him, the EC had already employed District Supervisors and other personnel to help during the exercise.
The decision by the EC to compile a new voter’s register has been met with stiff resistance from the largest opposition party, NDC, and other opposition political parties.
The coalition of political parties against the EC’s decision argued there was no need for a new register.
They insisted the EC must update the current register. But the EC insisted all the Biometric Verification Devices (BVDS) and the entire Voter Management Solution must be changed as they were outdated.
The NDC has dragged the EC to court over the matter, praying the court to restrict the EC from carrying on with its decision.