Check your names in the voters register

Accra, Oct. 10, GNA - Mr Kofi Amponsah-Bediako, Assistant Government Spokesperson on Social Services has appealed to all Ghanaians to take note of the exhibition of the Voters' Register nationwide from October 12 to October 17 and to ascertain whether their names were captured in the Register.

They should consider the exercise as an important one for the survival and consolidation of democracy in the country.

Mr Amposah-Bediako, who was speaking in an interview with the GNA on the importance of the exercise said: "Gone were the days when decision-making in this country, particularly under military rule, was portrayed as the monopoly of a handful of self-acclaimed righteous men and women, who were not only to be feared by all but were also the monarchs of all they surveyed.

"These self-acclaimed righteous men and women think that what they stand for as well as the actions they prefer to pursue, irrespective of the diabolic consequences of such actions, is what ought to be accepted by all Ghanaians."

He said, "on the contrary, however, decision-making in modern democratic systems of government is based on free discussions of issues and consensus building through voting.

"This explains why voting has become an important part of our democratic aspirations and culture.

"In view of the importance of voting and its significance to the democratic process there is the need to ensure that only those who qualify by the electoral laws of the land are given the chance to vote."

Mr Bediako-Amonsah said; "those who qualify to vote must also ensure, during the exhibition, that their names appear on the Voters' Register to enable them to vote in all future elections".

He said it was "in the light of this that the upcoming exhibition of the Voters' Register is seen as vital for the conduct of genuine and peaceful elections in the country.

Mr Bediako-Amponsah urged the electorate not only to make claims for their names to be included in the register, if omitted, "but also object to the inclusion of the names of persons whom they have good reasons to believe are not qualified to register as voters."

He said that was important because some wicked and criminal persons might have influenced some unpatriotic registration officers to include fictitious names in the voters list during the registration exercise. It was only through the conduct of transparent and peaceful elections based on genuine voters register devoid of fictitious names that the true wishes and aspirations of voters could be given expression in concrete terms to influence the political direction of the country, he said.