NPP-USA WADES INTO BLOATED REGISTER

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Thursday, January 22, 2015

New Patriotic Party branch in the United States (NPP-USA) has been compiling statistical data of what it claims is the proof that Ghana's current voters register is bloated.

They have therefore urged all stakeholders to mount pressure on the Electoral Commission (EC) to reform the electoral system using the preparation of a new register as a major step in the process.

The NPP electoral reforms committee headed by party running mate Dr Mahamudu Bawumia recently also submitted its report to the party  Steering Committee at it recent meeting in Accra.

Accurate Register

According to the NPP USA, “an accurate voters’ register cannot capture more than 46.4% or roughly 12.673 million voters of the projected population of just over 27 million,” as Ghana is currently witnessing.

Stats for 2016

The NPP-USA claimed that per its projections, the Ghana’s population is expected to hit 27.315 million by the end of 2015 emphasizing “in post-oil production Ghana, the foreigner presence in Ghana is even higher than pre-oil production Ghana of 2010.”

“Consistent with typical population growth, notice that Ghana is aging a little compared to the 2010 population distribution. Notice that the 15 to 19 category has now been split into two with one being the 15 to 17 group and the other being the 18 and 19 group.”

The NPP group said, “this was done by taking the 15 to 19 year category and splitting it into five with three portions being the 15 to 17, and the remaining two portions representing the 18 and 19 year olds.”

It said Ghana had 43.6% of the population below the voting age of 18 years and another 5 percent or so  were foreign adults not eligible to register to vote.

“Another 5 percent or thereabouts represent a large group including those too sick to register, who simply don’t care, who could not make time to register, prisoners, etc.” they insisted.

Age distribution

According to the NPP-USA, “this is the Age Distribution of Ghana’s 2010 population of 24.391 million; this number includes all persons domiciled in Ghana as at 2010 regardless of citizenship.”

They added “although the elections were held in 2012, the voter register was compiled at a time when these were the population distribution.”

“Take the 15 to 19 year category and split it into five with three portions being the 15 to 17, and the remaining two portions representing the 18 and 19 year olds. Add the 15 to 17 year olds to the category below the voting age. That gives you 44.8 percent of the population under the voting age. The remaining 55.2 percent still includes all foreign adults in the country who obviously cannot register to vote.”

“Typically this segment represents roughly 5 percent in most countries but should be higher in Ghana considering the volume of refugees and a higher than average diplomatic corps due to Ghana’s stability,” they submitted and queried “So how did the EC manage to have a voter register comprising 56.2 percent of the population?”

Heated Debate

The issue of whether or not the voters register used in the 2012 general election was bloated has generated heated debate.

Addressing party supporters in the United Kingdom recently, NPP flag-bearer Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said the party has set up an electoral reform committee to work with the EC to avert anomalies that marred the 2012 elections.

He said “the present voters register that we have in Ghana is bloated and anomalous and there is an urgent need to make sure we get a new voters register before the next election.”

However, the EC through its Director of Public Affairs Christian Owusu-Parry has variously insisted the register is not bloated.

“No, we disagree with any assertion that the register as we have at the moment is bloated. The register is not in any way bloated,” Owusu Parry told an Accra-based radio station on December 29, last year.

He added that: “If anybody suggests that the register as we have it is bloated, then I am surprised because it is not supported by the statistical figures that we have”.