Accra, June 4, GNA - The Christian Council of Ghana (CCG) Election 2008 Observation team on Thursday recommended that registration of eligible voters should be held throughout the three preceding years of the election year to avoid the infractions and irregularities that surrounded the 2008 re-registration process.

According to a report of the team, this would prevent bloating of the voters' register with minors, foreigners and other frauds. The team said the Electoral Commission should centrally provide special voters' lists in alphabetical order to allow easy identification of voters.

The 68-page report also suggested that as a pre-condition, the period between application of the special voters and special voting day should be extended to maintain the credibility of the electoral process. Mr Haruna Iddrisu, Minister of Communication, in a speech read for him at the launch of the report, suggested an all-year round on-line accessibility of voters' register to give room for verification and its authenticity.

He said it was important that Ghana took advantage of the Information Communication Technology (ICT) by introducing a computerized voter system as part of her electoral reforms for multi-party elections. Mr Iddrisu said electronic voting could save the country from serious electoral malpractices that were likely to plunge the nation into anarchy.

"In so doing, the private sector and donor partners have a vital role to play in the efforts to move Ghana into the positive side of governance.

"It is also my conviction that if Geographical Information Systems maps are developed for all constituencies, it will enhance the democratic process."

Mr George Sagoe-Addy, the Technical Advisor, Governance Programme of the CCG, said the Council, since the inception of the Fourth Republic, had contributed to the efforts of civil society organizations in building a local election observer base for the country. He said the Council organized capacity building workshops for about 317 local observers drawn from the Local Council of Churches in the Northern, Eastern and Greater Accra Regions to educate the public on their civic rights and responsibilities.

Mr Sagoe-Addy said on the whole, Ghana's electoral process had developed tremendously and the public confidence in the electoral process had also increased judging from the conduct of the people. "As far as the polling stations observed are concerned, CCG did not stumble across any serious malpractices. Again, the process was overall peaceful, orderly, transparent and credible.

"This, however, does not allow any nationwide conclusion since serious irregularities have been reported from other areas," he added. The Reverend Dr Fred Deegbe, General Secretary of CCG, said the Council would continue to contribute to the development of a peaceful, just and equitable society where there would be an increased realization of social and economic rights of the disadvantaged in Ghana. Mr Joseph Nii Budu Tetteh, who chaired the function, called on all stakeholders to start discussing recommendations in the report in a non-partisan manner to set the tone for 2012 elections. "We should not wait till 2012, let us learn our lessons of 2008 election to ensure that the subsequent one would be something that we shall be proud of," he said. 04 June 09