University Lecturers Join Campaign Against EC’s New Register.

Hundreds of university lecturers have issued a statement warning the Electoral Commission (EC) for driving the country to the brink of confusion with its controversial new voters’ register adventure.

The group which has composed itself into a body called Concerned University Lecturers have warned the EC that its antics is puzzling and it threatens to erode the confidence the EC has “jealously guarded over more than a quarter of a century”.

“We are particularly worried about the decision to compile a completely new voters’ register given that our country’s constitutional scheduled Presidential and Parliamentary elections are about six months away.”

In their open letter to the EC’s Chairperson, Jean Mensah dated June 8, 2020, the group highlighted several reasons the registration exercise may not provide a credible roll thus, denying a free and fair 2020 elections.

The group also questioned why the existing register the EC is seeking to scrap has been used by the same EC to conduct several elections in the past four years.

These elections include the 2012 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections, the 2016 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections, a referendum to create six (6) new administrative Regions in 2018, a By-election at the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency, and District Assembly Elections in 2019

“And so far, we have not seen any evidence to suggest that an updated version of the existing register cannot perform same role in the 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary elections, as the outcomes of these elections have been described by your office and other stakeholders as some of the most credible elections in our country’s history.”

The lecturers are the latest in a groundswell of  civil society groups political parties, and prominent individuals in the country that have kicked against the new register.