The Deputy Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), Dr. Bossman Asare, has expressed concern over the high number of registered voters who failed to cast their ballots in the 2024 Presidential and Parliamentary elections, resulting in significant financial loss to the state.
Speaking at the Post-2024 Elections Evaluation Dialogue organized by the National Peace Council, Dr. Bossman Asare the Deputy Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, 97% of eligible voters were captured in the voters’ register for the 2024 elections; a significant achievement for the Commission.
However the EC revealed that about 7 million eligible did not vote in the 2024 polls.
He suggested that Ghana may have to consider policies similar to countries with compulsory voting systems, where citizens are required by law to vote or provide valid reasons for abstention.
“For us at the Electoral Commission what pains us is that we budget for each ballot paper . We pay for each ballot paper. In 2024, about 7 million Ghanaians did not vote so for both Presidential and Parliamentary assuming each ballot paper was GHS2, that’s 14 million cedis. So all those who didn’t vote, apart from not voting the country has also made provision for them and they didn’t take advantage so we think that all of us must be committed to working. May be Ghana must explore the country that have compulsory voting where if you don’t vote you must explain why you can’t vote. But there are some who have argue that if you force people to vote it is not a democracy”
However, he acknowledged concerns that such measures could be viewed as undemocratic.
Dr. Bossman Asare also stated that the Commission is exploring several options including the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to improve voter education and engagement ahead of future elections.
On election security, he said based on experiences from the 2024 elections, there is the need for military presence at collation centers, describing any suggestion to do without it as a joke.
He stressed the importance of prosecuting individuals involved in electoral crimes to maintain the integrity of Ghana’s democratic process.
Dr. Asare clarified that the EC did not delay in declaring the 2024 Presidential election results, noting that the declaration was made within 48 hours after polls closed.
He said the EC is also exploring systems to directly receive results from polling stations to the national collation center to curb potential manipulations, verification and delays.
Apostle Eric Kwabena Nyamekye, Chairman of the Church of Pentecost and Member of The National Peace Council was hopeful Ghana’s democracy and electoral processes is still being shaped to be better.
He believes the use of dialogue instead of inflammatory comments will help shape the future.
The dialogue, attended by political party representatives, civil society groups, security agencies, and religious leaders, forms part of efforts to evaluate the 2024 general elections and make recommendations for future polls.
Theme: Dialoguing for a Stronger Democracy and Social Cohesion “
Abraham Amaliba and Haruna Mohammed, Director of Legal Affairs for NDC and Deputy General Secretary of NPP respectively underscored the importance of such dialogue in enhancing electoral processes.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/Kojo Ansah
