Ghana's biometric registration should be open to Ghanaians abroad

Mr  Joseph Kumah, a leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Sene District, called on the Electoral Commission (EC) to take immediate steps to register eligible voters  abroad in the biometric registration exercise.  He told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that it would be unfair on the part of the EC if Ghanaians abroad were not registered.
     Mr. Kumah, who is vying for the parliamentary seat of the newly created Sene East constituency, commended Ghanaians for the impressive turnout during the first and second phases of the exercise and urged those who had not been registered to do so.
     Kajaji is the capital of Sene East District, which is among the 46 newly created district and municipalities.

        Mr. Kumah said although the exercise faced some challenges, the way and manner eligible voters conducted themselves was appreciable and appealed to the EC to also do well to address those problems.
     He said the smooth implementation of the biometric system would not only promote fairness in the electoral process especially voting but also "make things easy for the EC in conducting the elections".
     "The biometric voting systems have helped weed out election frauds in some parts of the world including the United States, UK and Germany", he said.
     Mr. Kumah urged followers of political parties to eschew attitudes that had the potential to undermine the exercise and to support the EC to compile a credible register.
     "All electoral malpractices especially rigging, would be a thing of the past if a credible register is obtained", he said and expressed appreciation to political party agents for their impressive conduct so far during the exercise.

     Mr. Kumah urged Ghanaians to preserve the prevailing peace in the country by ensuring that their comments and attitudes during the electioneering campaign did not provoke political opponents.
     He said Ghana had gained recognition internationally for its remarkable strides in democracy and appealed to political parties to allow the law to take its course on members whose actions and inactions turned to endanger national stability.