The Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) has advised the Ghanaian populace not to be tempted to register on multiple occasions in the ongoing voter registration exercise.
According to the Commission, anyone who attempts to do so will have his or her name removed from the voter register and/or risk imprisonment.
Director of Electoral Services at the Electoral Commission (EC), Dr. Serebour Quaicoe in an interview with Happy 98.9 FM’s Samuel Eshun, host of the Happy Morning Show said, “If you register on multiple occasions, we can ‘quarantine’ you and your name can be removed from the register but ultimately, you may be prosecuted.”
The Commission made known that they have already recorded over thousands (1000s) of multiple registrations and will meet with the Adjudication Committee, made up of political parties and some Civil Society Organizations to decide the fate of these lawbreakers.
When asked if the incidence of multiple registrations were oversights, he was quick to say that most registrants did not do this out of ignorance but were fully aware of what they were doing.
He emphasized that some culprits of the multiple registrations changed their names, and biodata and visited different registration centres to commit this illegal act. “Whether you change your name or age, you cannot register on multiple occasions because your biometric data will be traced back to you and expose you.”
Dr. Serebour Quaicoe was, however, quick to acknowledge that some of these multiple registrations were not intentional and this can be identified from their registration pattern. “We will handle the situation differently if the person registers twice at the same polling station with the same details.”
He explained that because the systems of the various registration centres were not linked, they (registration officials) never received red flags during the multiple registration processes.
“But the national database realigns data from the various registration centres and this is where we identify the incidence of multiple registrations,” he said.
The Electoral Commission which scheduled its registration exercise in various phases as part of measures to control the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic will have its last and final phase of the Voters’ Registration from the 1st – 6th of August 2020 as earlier scheduled.
By: Joel Sanco
