AFRICA/GHANA - The Bishops invite "All work together with the Electoral Commission to have lists of credible voters"

Accra (Agenzia Fides) - All those who are called to work with the Electoral Commission for the preparation of new electoral rolls "have to be honest and truthful in their contributions", to win the confidence of the Ghanaian public. This is what the Bishops of Ghana say in a statement signed by His Exc. Mgr. Joseph Osei-Bonsu, Bishop of Konongo-Mampong and President of the Episcopal Conference of Ghana, sent to Fides.
The new voters register must be ready for the 2016 presidential and parliamentary elections.
"The current voters register was compiled in 2012", recalls the statement. "The voter population recorded in the register was around 14 million out of a national population of about 25 million (2010 Population Census). Since the exhibition of the voters register in 2012, many have questioned the credibility of the said register".
The Bishops recall that there are irregularities found in the current voters register: "the registration of minors as voters, the voter population for the presidential elections being greater than the voter population for parliamentary elections, the registration of aliens as voters in Ghana’s elections and the high number of registered voters relative to the current population of Ghana".
In their statement the Bishops acknowledge the efforts of the Electoral Commission so far made to "ensure that the voters register is credible enough for the 2016 general election", but call for further measures, such as the allegations of over 76,000 names of persons from neighbouring countries discovered in the current register must be investigated and the proper process be conducted if the allegations are found to be true.
To do this we ask the government to guarantee the necessary means for the Commission to carry out its work, and political parties and representatives of civil society to give their contribution in order to obtain credible electoral lists. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 14/10/2015)

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