The Member of Parliament for Tamale North Constituency in the Northern Region, Honorable Alhassan Suhuyini has expressed deep concerns over the utilization of offline registration methods by the Electoral Commission of Ghana in the ongoing limited voters’ registration exercise.
The opposition National Democratic Congress lawmaker in a scathing critique of the Electoral Commission’s handling of the ongoing limited voter registration exercised strongly asserted that the usage of the offline system by the Electoral Commission portend some significant shortcomings in the Commission’s data collection process.
Honorable Suhuyini further posited that the shortcoming mostly associated with the usage of the offline system can potentially disenfranchise several eligible voters across the country.
Highlighting the inherent risks associated with offline data collection, the Tamale North Member of Parliament underscored the potential for data synchronization issues, data loss, and security vulnerabilities, arguing that the Electoral Commission’s reliance on offline methods could possible undermines the integrity of the limited voter registration exercise.
“I’m educated that offline data collection may lead to data synchronization issues, even data loss, and security concerns”.
Honorable Alhassan Suhuyini, MP Tamale North Constituency
Citing compelling evidence, he has earlier shared with major news outlets, Honorable Suhuyini disclosed that the use of the offline system by the Electoral Commission during last year’s limited voter registration exercise confirms his suspicion on the usage of the offline system.
He noted that information available to him from his Constituency indicate that a significant portion of the data collected offline during last year’s limited voters registration exercise either vanished, became corrupted, or failed to synchronize properly.
800 Voters Disenfranchised in Tamale North
The opposition National Democratic Congress legislator further stated that the repercussions of such deficiencies led to an approximately 800 individuals in the Tamale North Constituency finding themselves on the precipice of disenfranchisement.
He emphasized that despite such individuals possessing valid Electoral Commission Voter ID cards, correspondence from the Electoral Commission indicate that the Commission has lost their data, thereby leaving such individuals at the risk of being excluded from the electoral process due to data mishandling and technical inadequacies.
According to Honorable Suhuyini, the affected individuals are being compelled by the Electoral Commission to re-register, a burdensome task that he bemoaned should not fall upon the shoulders of the electorates.
In light of these revelations, the Tamale North Constituency Member of Parliament, Honorable Alhassan Suhuyini issued a resounding call to action, demanding accountability from the Electoral Commission and urging immediate measures to rectify the situation.
Emphasizing the fundamental importance of safeguarding the democratic rights of all citizens, he called for a thorough investigation into the systemic failures that according to him has jeopardized the ongoing limited voter registration exercise.
Honorable Suhuyini also advocated for the adoption of robust and transparent data collection methodologies, including the utilization of online registration systems to mitigate the risks associated with offline processes.
He emphasized that it is only through comprehensive reforms and a commitment to electoral integrity that can help the Electoral Commission restore public trust and ensure that every eligible citizen is afforded the opportunity to participate in the democratic process.
Honorable Suhuyini, however cautioned that failure to rectify such issues promptly could casts a shadow of doubt over the Commission’s commitment to upholding the democratic rights of citizens and ensuring the integrity of the electoral process.
The Electoral Commission of Ghana in an earlier statement directed its officers across the country to switch to the offline mode of registration starting from the third day of the ongoing limited voters’ registration exercise.
The Commission in the statement emphasized that its decision is as a result of the numerous challenges it is facing using the online mode of registration for the first two days of the commencement of the 2024 limited voters’ registration exercise.
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