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2016 polls will be challenging - Rawlings

The former president said this when leaders of pro-opposition pressure group, Let My Vote Count Alliance (LMVCA) paid a courtesy call on him at his residence.

 

Former President of Ghana, Jerry John Rawlings, has charged the Electoral Commission, political parties and various stakeholders to ensure a credible voters' register ahead of the 2016 elections.

The former president said since the upcoming elections is going to be very challenging and stressful, stakeholders should do everything possible to ensure the voters' register is credible.

"In order to minimize the stressfulness into 2016, everything possible must be done to ensure a very credible electoral process which means that we listen to what some of the elders are saying in the churches  etc, to examine what’s going on, to give the registry, the electoral process into the elections a very credible climate, a very credible instrument and platform; I think let’s do it” he said.

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The former president made these comments when leaders of pro-opposition pressure group, Let My Vote Count Alliance (LMVCA) paid a courtesy call on him at his residence to ask him to intervene to ensure Ghana has a credible voters register going into the polls next year.

Jerry Rawlings further urged the governing NDC to throw away any fears of creating a new register in order to win the confidence of the electorate.

“As a sitting government, I think if we feel pretty confident about that register, we should have no fears about doing what needs to be done to win the confidence, to take away doubts  ” he said.

The 2016 vice presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party had earlier outlined reasons why the current voters’ register is flawed and unfit for purpose, requiring, therefore, the need for the compilation of a new voters’ register ahead of the conduct of the 2016 general elections.

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The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has further presented the Electoral Commission (EC) with what it claims are additional evidences to support calls for the replacement of the current voters’ register.

The party said its Information Techonology (IT) Team have unraveled close to 2,096 separate cases of double and multiple registration from all the 10 Regions of Ghana to establish its claims that the  register is “incurably” flawed and unfit for the 2016 elections.

Ms. Charlotte Osei have revealed that so far, 30 institutions including 15 political parties, have submitted proposals which are being evaluated on whether or not there would be need for a new voters’ register.

She further stated that the EC has received donor support to evaluate the proposals and that by the end of the month; they will organize a forum to discuss and reach some consensus on the proposals.

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