Any lessons from pilot EC registration?

The Electoral Commission (EC) at the weekend undertook a pilot registration of voters at selected centres across the country.

The dummy exercise was aimed at testing the commission’s upgraded biometric voters registration (BVR) kits  for the upcoming limited voters registration and subsequent registration exercises.

According to our correspondents in the regions, the turnout was high, with many centres recording more than the expected 50 prospective voters.

The impressive turnout could be attributed to the interest shown by the various political parties and the electorate and this could also be a signal of what to expect during the limited registration of voters.

However, while the exercise was largely smooth and successful  in many centres, it recorded some bottlenecks at other places.

According to some political watchers, it took, on the average, about 10 minutes to process one new registrant. This will translate to about six new voters per hour and will also mean about 48 new registrants per day.

The reality, therefore, is that if there are many more people registering on a particular day, it would require many more BVR kits or more days to complete the exercise.

According to the political watchers, the main bottleneck in the three-tier process was at the second stage. This is where the biodata is input into the Automatic Fingerprint Information System (AFIS). It can take an average of about 15 minutes to go through the process, which includes input of biodata, taking fingerprints and storage, taking of facial photo and storage and validating of biodata by the registrant.

Others also argued that the EC should have made available a full complement of logistics needed for the real exercise to test the robustness of the BVR kits. The absence of guarantors’ forms at the registration centres was also a major concern.

“We felt that the EC should have given its officers an unlimited number of forms, so that as many people as possible could be registered to test the equipment and also check if it can work under pressure conditions,” the Director of Elections of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, said.

Relatedly, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Ayawaso West Wuogon, Mr Emmanuel Agyarko Kyeremanteng, observed that “if you are piloting something, my expectation is that the full complement of whatever is needed when the real exercise comes up must be made available during the pilot”.

Fortunately, the exercise was a pilot and the EC has the opportunity to learn useful lessons out of it and make quick amends to ensure that the upcoming limited registration of voters will go ahead unimpeded.

The EC must be commended for the exercise. However, it must take note of the problems that have so far emerged and work assiduously  to address them before the main limited registration exercise in April.

The Daily Graphic thinks the EC can do a good job but needs the support and goodwill of all stakeholders.

The commission, for its part, must be seen to be fair and transparent in its election management process. This will go a long way to engender confidence and trust in the processes leading to this year’s elections.