Senior Lecturer at the Political Science Department of the University of Ghana, Dr Stephen Ahiawodor, says an alternative to the ‘No verification, No Vote’ rule should be quickly promulgated in order to prevent the incident that characterised the 2012 General Elections following a breakdown of the biometric machines.

In the 2012 elections, electoral officers allowed voting in some polling stations without biometric verification after most of the machines broke down. A call from President John Dramani Mahama for the Electoral Commission (EC) to allow voting without recourse to the mass breakdown of the machines incurred the displeasure of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), whose General Secretary, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, accused the president, also a candidate in the election, of interfering in the operations of the EC.

A proposal by political parties in Ghana after two workshops organised by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) called for a strict observation of that regulation.

However, Dr Ahiawodor says the EC should have “several” options to biometric verification.

“I can see people who have been illegally disenfranchised going to court if they are not allowed to vote as a result of no biometric verification,” he told TV3’s Bridget Otoo on Midday Live on Wednesday, November 27, 2013.

He, however, lauded the proposal of the political parties under the Ghana Political Parties Programme (GPPP) for the date of the elections to be moved one month earlier.

“At least, it will give ample time for the transitional period to be managed,” he said, citing the difficulties that characterized the transition process in 2001 and 2009.

November election not a panacea to disputes

Dr Ahiawodor, however, stressed that an election in November will not be a panacea to addressing electoral disputes.

He cited the 2012 Election Petition as an ideal example, explaining that an election a month earlier cannot address a dispute like the Petition that took eight months.

“But at least it will enable us to have at least a dispute-free election.”