Political analyst Justice Siaw Mandela has advised the Electoral Commission (EC) to, with immediate effect, increase the registration centres in the ongoing limited registration exercise.
He opined that the EC should have planned the registration in such a way that there would be no overcrowding in the registration centres.
He said that with the economic challenges and difficulties some individuals are experiencing, it would have been prudent for the EC to have brought the registration centres to the people instead of making them travel long distances before accessing the centres.
In an interview on Nyankonton Mu Nsem on Rainbow Radio 875.FM, he stated that “the registration of voters is very crucial especially going into an election hence the need for it to be organized transparently. Failure to organize the process in an efficient and transparent manner will have a negative impact on the outcome of any election and people would also raise concerns and accuse you of working for the government”.
He emphasised the need for the EC to do what was right and stop behaving as an inexperienced institution.
He said that with increased registration centres, all eligible persons will register even when you face technical challenges.
He maintained that the EC has also failed to see the need to listen to sound recommendations that could make their work more flexible.
He did not also understand why the EC would have three backup machines in the limited centres when it could expand the centres and deploy the other machines there for the exercise to run smoothly.
“Dr. Serwbour has claimed that they have three backup machines in the registration centres. Would it not be prudent to create more registration centres and deploy these backup machines there so it will help reduce overcrowding in the other centres?
We are going into the general elections, and it is the life of some people. So people definitely will come from all corners to come and register to vote. Therefore, you cannot limit the exercise to only a few centres. Imagine someone had travelled for 100 kilometres, got to the centre, then asked the person to go back home and come another day because their network was poor. If there was a centre closer to the person, it would have been far better.
He went on to say, “If you cluster four electoral areas and provide them with a registration machine, we will all know each other and children will be prevented from registering. This is because the people in these areas can recognise all of the children who are brought to register.”
We have complained about the busing of people to registration centres. What do you expect? Should the people walk for 100 kilometres to the centres? You have to bus the people. From day one, we have created an avenue for people to speak against the electoral processes, and Jean Mensa and her Commission are the cause of it. Pure and simple.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
