CI 75 Matures - Paves Way For Biometric Voting

Parliament in session

Parliament has approved the report on the Public Elections Regulations, 2012 (CI 75) to give legal effect to the introduction of biometric registration and verification of registered voters in the electoral process in December.

In effect, CI 75 matured and took effect Tuesday after the mandatory 21 parliamentary sitting days.

The Electoral Commission (EC) has, since 1996, been conducting public elections under the Public Elections Regulations, 1996 (CI 15).

However, as a result of emerging challenges in the country’s electoral system, it embarked on a number of significant reforms to address the challenges.

One of those reforms was the introduction of the biometric registration through the passage of Public Elections (Registration of Voters) Regulations, 2012 (CI 72).

With the introduction of the biometric register, the EC needed to implement the biometric verification of registered voters during elections in December to further strengthen existing electoral procedures.

Consequently, it became necessary for the commission to make new regulations to replace the existing CI 15 in order to incorporate the reforms introduced in the electoral system.

The EC, therefore, on August 14, 2012, laid before Parliament CI 75 to replace CI 15.

The new provisions require that presiding officers, before delivering a ballot paper to a person to vote, are to establish by fingerprint or facial recognition that the person is the registered voter whose name and voter identification number and particulars appear in the register.

The new CI 75 also expressly states in Section 30 (2) that voters shall go through a biometric verification process to cast their votes, which is a complete departure from the previous election procedures.

It can also be observed that while CI 15 makes a general statement about the duties of presiding officers and polling assistants, the new regulations enumerate the functions and duties of election officials.

The specific duties and functions of presiding officers include setting up polling stations, as well as taking proper custody of ballot boxes, ballot papers, biometric verification equipment and other materials required and used for polls.

They are also required to fill relevant forms relating to the conduct of polls and supervising the work of polling assistants.

They are also expected to attend to voters without identity cards, as well as proxy voters.

They have also been vested with power to maintain order at polling stations, undertake thorough counting of votes and announce the results of the elections at the polling stations.

After the closure of polls, presiding officers are required to convey ballot boxes and other election materials to returning officers.

Unlike the old regulations, the new provisions make it obligatory for the EC to publish, at its district offices, the names of persons it proposes to appoint as presiding officers and polling assistants not later than 10 days before an election and make available copies of the published names to any political party which makes a request.

They also allow a political party or a registered voter in the constituency to object to the appointment of any of the officers within three days after the names of the proposed officials had been published, except that no objection will be entertained by the EC if the objection is raised within seven days to an election.

The CI 75 also imposes a penalty on presiding officers who contravene the laws and regulations governing the conduct of elections and are liable to sanctions applicable to the electoral laws of Ghana.

The provision for tendered ballot papers does not appear in CI 75 where voters whose particulars have been used by other people to vote because under the biometric system it is extremely difficult to use the name and other particulars of another person to vote.

This clearly means that the reforms undertaken by the EC through the introduction of the biometric register has further strengthened the existing electoral procedures in the country.

A member of the Committee on Subsidiary Legislation, Mr John Akologo Tia, moved the motion for the adoption of the report.

He said the committee was satisfied that CI 75 conformed to the requirements of the Constitution and other electoral laws of the country.

He was seconded by the Chairman of the committee, Mr Kwame Osei-Prempeh.