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Carter Centre leans on EC for fair
vote
Accra, Aug. 27, Ghanadot/GNA - The Carter Center has said it
believes that the Electoral Commission has the capacity to
conduct the December elections in a professional and
transparent manner.
However, significant confidence building and corrective
measures must be undertaken to bolster the public trust that
all political actors are committed to the rules as set out
in the constitution and the electoral law, to conduct a
clean campaign, and to produce credible election results.
The Carter Centre, which is headed by former US President
Jimmy Carter, was commenting on the just-ended limited voter
registration exercise which was dogged by problems such as
alack of logistics, registration of minors and violence.
The Carter Centre delegation of international observers was
in Ghana from July 17 to August 13 to observe the exercise
and to assess preparations for the 2008 presidential and
parliamentary elections.
The observers visited seven of the country’s 10 regions –
Greater Accra, Ashanti, Central, Eastern, Northern, Volta,
and Western - and had permanent teams placed in the Greater
Accra, Ashanti, Northern and Volta regions throughout their
one-month observation mission.
The limited voter registration exercise aimed to provide an
opportunity for those who had recently turned 18 years or
were absent from the voter register for other reasons, to
register in time to vote on December 7.
The Carter Centre, which has observed all elections in Ghana
since 1992, said in a statement to the Ghana News Agency on
Wednesday that the limited voter registration exercise that
took place July 31 – August 12 was “generally successful but
hampered by several irregularities”.
“Despite notable weaknesses in the implementation of the
limited registration effort, the overall credibility of the
Ghanaian electoral process has not been lost. Most polling
officials and political party agents completed their duties
with commendable professionalism.”
It said the concerns of its observers included multiple
delays in the dates of the voter registration period,
widespread shortage of essential materials, a lack of
adequate voter education and civic awareness, and acts of
intimidation committed by the two main political parties,
sometimes leading to violence.
The Carter observers noted that efforts of Electoral
Commission (EC), National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE)
and civil society organizations to educate voters on
registration procedures included posters, radio and
television advertisements.
However these efforts were too limited to properly educate
the public on the procedures and objectives of the voter
registration exercise.
It said despite the lack of adequate outreach, the overall
turnout was very high, more so in urban than rural areas,
and exceeded the EC’s estimate of 800,000 to one million
potential registrants.
Party agents from the two largest political parties, the New
Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC),
were seen at every registration centre visited by Center
observers, the report said.
“Party agents in a number of registration centres acted as
substitutes for the election officials in determining the
eligibility of citizens to register.
“In some cases, the eligibility of registrants was
determined outside of the official procedure leading to
concerns about foreign, underage, or multiple registration
attempts. In other stations, the political parties provided
food for the election officials. These actions could
compromise the appearance of impartiality on the part of the
EC.”
The Carter Centre observers said they also noted frequent
party-sanctioned busing in swing vote areas.
“The busing could have been legitimate in some cases.
However, inadequate citizen education about the registration
process coupled with the possibility that the busing was the
product of political party attempts to rig the voter’s roll,
fuelled public suspicions that could undermine the
credibility of the registration.”
The report noted that a lack of essential registration
materials was reported in all of the regions the observers
visited. Missing materials ranged from batteries for cameras
to registration forms to a sufficient number of printers.
“These equipment shortages led to long delays and increased
tension among citizens and political party representatives.
This tension in turn led to some election officials taking
shortcuts to expedite the process.”
They also noted the use of older Polaroid cameras instead of
the newly procured digital cameras saying in some areas,
non-serialized registration forms were used in place of the
standard forms.
These forms lacked space for photographs and led to
confusion among election officers, political party agents,
observers, and citizens who were attempting to register.
The Observer mission noted that shortages also caused
suspicion from the political parties and the media about why
the shortages existed if the EC had received all necessary
funding for electoral activities.
It said although not widespread, cases of violence and
intimidation were recorded at registration centres in the
Ashanti and Northern regions.
There were confrontations between registrants and EC
officials that potentially could have degenerated into
violence and disruption of the registration process. In many
instances, EC officials were afraid for their safety.
“In several areas visited by observers, it was clear that
the lack of political tolerance produced an intimidating
environment. In some cases, those situations devolved into
violent confrontations between supporters of the two
dominant political parties.”
The Carter Centre urged the government and the international
donor community to continue to provide the EC with all the
resources it needs to conduct a transparent and credible
election process, including disbursement of resources in a
timely manner for all future phases of the December 7
elections.
It said the EC should create opportunities for all eligible
registrants who, through no fault of their own, were not
able to be register within the 10 day limited voter
registration exercise or during the two additional days
provided – due to long queues or long periods of time in
various polling centres where limited or no registration
materials were available.
“The EC should ensure that political parties and citizens
are informed of the mechanisms in place to resolve electoral
disputes, particularly in the event of a closely contested
election.
“Political parties and candidates should abide by the 2008
Political Parties’ Code of Conduct and respect the
interventions of the Code of Conduct enforcement body.
“The EC should ensure that all ad hoc staff members are
adequately trained in the task of administering elections
and are aware of their appropriate relationship to political
party agents in future registration efforts but also during
voting operations.”
It said the EC, in cooperation with the NCCE, should embark
on more effective and timely voter education activities to
ensure that citizens are familiar with and understand
polling procedures.
GNA
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