2008 GENERAL ELECTION OBSERVATION REPORT LAUNCHED (PAGE 17)

THE Minster of Communications, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, has launched a 68-page observation report on the 2008 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections compiled by the Christian Council of Ghana (CCG) with a call for the voters register to be made accessible on-line all year round.
He was of the view that those reforms would give room for all and sundry to peruse and verify the authenticity of the register.
Mr Iddrisu whose speech was read on his behalf by his deputy, Mr Gideon Quarcoo, said it was important that the country took advantage of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) by introducing a computerised voter system as part of the electoral reforms for multiparty elections.
He explained that by those reforms, the private sector and donor partners would have a vital role to play in the efforts to move the country good governance.
Mr Iddrisu said electronic voting when effectively implemented, could benefit the country tremendously through the expertise of donor partners on how biometrics could be introduced into the electoral system and ensure that elections were clean and credible.
That, he said, would save the country from serious electoral malpractice that were likely to plunge the nation into anarchy.
The minister further stated that the conduct of most polling agents was not impressive, and therefore, called for their proper training to reduce incidences of ballot snatching, impersonation and vote rigging.
Mr Iddrisu said Ghana was fortunate that through the efforts of civil society organisations like the Christian Council, some of those incidents that occurred during last year’s general election did not degenerate into conflicts that would have turned back the clock of progress.
The General Secretary of CCG, Rev. (Dr) Fred Deegbe, said the Council had since its establishment in 1929 been involved in the socio-economic development of the country, and monitoring of elections was one activity of the council’s responsibility as a good corporate citizen.
He said other activities of the council which were of moral and ethical issues, were corruption and the role of women in the socio-economic development of the country.
Rev. Deegbe said the 2008 election was close to call and the report sought to capture what was done during the election and the comportment and conduct of Ghanaians in the face of tension.
He called for the de-polarisation of the country’s democratic process to ensure that government was run freely and fairly with room for improvement.
Mr George Sagoe-Addy, Governance Co-ordinator of CCG, who gave the highlights of a 68-page report, said even though some irregularities were reported, on the whole there was no widespread malpractice.
He said as far as the monitor of the polling stations were concerned, CCG ‘did not stumble across any serious malpractice and the overall election was peaceful, orderly transparent and credible.