Dr. kwadwo Afari Gyan, EC Boss
As the country inches towards the commencement of the novelty biometric registration exercise, nagging questions which cropped up earlier when it made landfall, as it were, persist.
The Electoral Commission (EC), much as we appreciate the task on its shoulders, given the newness of the system, has not done much to dispel the fears being entertained about the vexatious issue of verification.
An opportunity for such explanation emerged when the Catholic Bishops’ Conference conferred with David Kanga, Deputy Chairman, Finance and Administration of the EC but the gentleman was not forthright in his answer.
Mr. Kanga said that much as the EC was unable to furnish all polling stations with the verification machines, the Commission would provide an alternative to address the fears of Ghanaians, an answer which falls short of a sufficient response.
When a member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Election Committee, Martin Arku Korsah, expressed concern about the ambiguity on an Oman FM breakfast show, yesterday, he was articulating a general worry about an ambiguity which can be costly if not managed properly.
We are pleased that the issue of elections is of concern to most Ghanaians and the EC. But with such ambiguity about a critical component of the novelty rearing its head at the EC, questions begin to be posed about the sincerity of the election managers.
Faulty polls are known to have created mayhem and even wars in countries where the process suffered avoidable challenges of rigging and opaqueness. It is for this reason that pains must be taken to ensure that no stone is left unturned towards organizing polls which leave no doubt about the winner or loser.
So much money is being committed to the forthcoming polls, as evidenced by the rather expensive biometric registration process. It behoves the germane body to ensure that the accompanying verification apparatus is acquired to enhance the verity of the exercise.
We cannot afford to go this extra mile only to be saddled with post-election squabbles which can rob the process of the deference that it needs to attract international acclaim and peace of the nation.
It takes only a small comment about a shady side of an election process to ignite a fire that eventually spreads across a country. We do not deserve such an inferno and the easiest way to obviate it is by organizing free and fair polls, factors only in the bosom of a verifiable biometric registration exercise, cleaned and attracting mutual respect from both sides of the political divide.
The Catholic Bishops and other respectable organizations have expressed genuine concerns about the need to undertake credible polls in the country, an obsession which has earned vituperations from bad politicians in the country.
The role of verification in this whole project cannot be over-emphasised. It is for this reason that we are asking that the EC tells the country, without ambiguity, whether there is going to be verification or not.
Any attempt at circumventing this important complement to the biometric registration procedure would render the exercise useless and possibly land the country into an avoidable political inferno.
We are not asking for too much if our demands are in the interest of the nation’s cohesiveness and unity.
