• The Electoral Commission has rubbished claims that it is wasting state resources in its quest to compile a new voters’ register and procuring a biometric system.
• The Commission said it is committed to judiciously spending the about GH¢400 million it was granted by Parliament to be spent on the process.
• Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, The Deputy Chairperson of the Commission in-charge of Operations, Mr Samuel Tettey said the amount will be expended mainly on procuring electoral materials as well as recruitment of election officials for all polling stations across the country.
• The decision by the EC to compile a new voters’ register has been a controversial subject in the country with political parties expressing divergent views.
The Electoral Commission has rubbished claims that it is wasting state resources in its quest to compile a new voters’ register and procuring a biometric system.
The Commission said it is committed to judiciously spending the about GH¢400 million it was granted by Parliament to be spent on the process.
“THE EXPENSES RELATE TO THE COST OF HIRING REGISTRATION OFFICIALS AND PROCUREMENT OF CONSUMABLE REGISTRATION MATERIALS. IT IS WORTH MENTIONING THAT THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION OF THE COMMISSION IS COMMITTED TO JUDICIOUS USE OF STATE RESOURCES FOR ELECTORAL ACTIVITIES,” HE SAID.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, The Deputy Chairperson of the Commission in-charge of Operations, Mr Samuel Tettey said the amount will be expended mainly on procuring electoral materials as well as recruitment of election officials for all polling stations across the country.
The decision by the EC to compile a new voters’ register has been a controversial subject in the country with political parties expressing divergent views.
The country’s largest opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) kicked against the move.
The party’s General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah has said there is no real need for a new register among other changes the commission seeks to introduce in the electoral system.
He also said it would be a waste of resources to buy biometric equipment for the election.
But the EC’s Samuel Tettey said such claims are unfounded.
“The expenses relate to the cost of hiring registration officials and procurement of consumable registration materials. It is worth mentioning that the current administration of the commission is committed to judicious use of state resources for electoral activities,” he said.
He suggested that the about GH¢400 million planned to be used for the new register and electoral process will be a prudent expenditure compared to previous expenses for similar exercises.
“The cost of the 2012 voter registration was GH¢169,720,146 that of 2014/2015 supplementary registration also cost the commission GH¢287,559,379. In 2016, the revision of the voter’s registration was GH¢487,998,714 and it is also important to note that the compilation of a new voter’s register in 2020 is estimated to cost GH¢390,265,186.44 and that is what we are referring to here.”
Credit to Source: Citi News Room
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