PRESS CONFRENCE ADDRESSED ON BEHALF OF THE ‘INTER-PARTY

RESISTANCE AGAINST THE NEW VOTER REGISTER’ ON THE NEED TO RESIST

THE REPLACEMENT OF THE CURRENT BIOMETRIC REGISTER FOR THE 2020
ELECTIONS AT THE ACCRA INTERNATIONAL PRESS CENTRE ON MONDAY, 6TH
JANUARY, 2020

Good Morning ladies and Gentlemen of the Press, on behalf of the Inter-Party
Resistance against the New Voter Register (IPRAN), you are welcome to the Accra
International Press Center. We are grateful for honoring our invitation.
Today marks the beginning of several engagements with you.

Happy New year to everyone!!!

The Inter-Party Resistance Against the New Voter Register (IPRAN) is a coalition of
some political parties in Ghana, who are resolved to defend and protect the integrity of
our electoral process.
We are here to share with you our position on the call by the Electoral Commission (EC)
to compile a new voter register for the 2020 General Election. Our decision to engage
you is motivated by our belief that the ultimate sovereignty of the nation lies in each and
everyone of us. The People’s interest must always reign supreme. Our engagement
with you this morning is purposed to present to you the distinguished jury of the court of
public opinion, our case for calling for a mass resistance to the replacement of the
current Biometric Voter Register.

Ladies and Gentlemen of the press, to begin with, let me underscore the fact that, a
peaceful and successful election is the result of collaboration between all stakeholders.
As a guide it is important to recount how the current Biometric Voter Register was
procured in 2012. Following the Akufo Addo led advocacy for a biometric voters register
prior to the 2012 General Elections, the Electoral Commission through the Inter-Party
Advisory Committee (IPAC) set up a technical team with representation from various
political parties, to among other things agree on the technical roadmap for the
compilation of the biometric voter register. All parties were fully engaged and involved in
the process from the beginning to the end.

Fast forward in 2020 we have exactly the opposite, President Akufo Addo is now using
the back door to get the EC to throw away a seven year (7yr) old register and compile a
new one with same systems. The reasons given are bizarre. As if that is not enough,
the process to procure and compile this needless register has been shrouded in secrecy
and characterized by deception, lack of transparency and dis-ingenuity.

Fellow Citizens, Ladies and Gnetlemen of the Press,

On March 27, 2019, the EC invited political parties to a meeting to discuss the following
issues:
❖ District Level Elections and Referendum
❖ Inspection of offices of Political Parties
❖ Compliance with audit requirements

After that meeting, the EC issued a communiqué recounting decisions made after our
deliberations. Interestingly, the first item they capture was the compilation of a new
biometric voters’ register.

We did not take this matter lightly, our friends in the NDC immediately issued a public
statement to refute and expose the EC for the blatant deception in smuggling in the
thought of new voter register into discussions that never mention same. We
subsequently, demanded an amendment of the minutes, which unfortunately had been
written to corroborate the lies told in the communiqué and the corrections were effected.
On 25th November, 2019, political parties were invited to an emergency IPAC meeting
to discuss the EC’s programme and the District Level Elections, only for the EC to once
again smuggle in the idea of the new Biometric Register. After our resistance, they
promised to call for a full blown meeting to discuss the subject.
On 2nd December, 2019 much to our dismay, we were invited for another
EMERGENCY IPAC meeting. We were amazed how any serious administrator will
organize two consecutive emergency meetings, but we offered them the benefit of the
doubt. The technical team of the EC presented an outline of reasons why they wanted a
new register. It bothered on the following:
• The data center is outdated
• the biometric equipment BVD is obsolete,
• data transmission system not effective (VMS),
• Need for facial recognition technology to eliminate manual verification (which was
0.6% of total registered voters in 2016).
The political parties’ representatives and their technical teams responded with some
counter factuals on all the issues raised. The parties argued that all the issues raised
could be resolved by upgrading the current Biometric Voters Register, without
discarding the biometric data of voters.

The EC then argued that the cost of upgrading the current register was going to be
expensive than the cost of the new system. This generated some argument which finally
led to the consensus that political parties ought to be furnished with some critical
documents including valuation reports and quotations for new biometric voter solution.
At least the political parties here present are yet to receive their copies of the
documents promised by the Commission.

Subsequently, we were invited to another meeting on 10th December, 2019 at Coconut

Groove Hotel, Accra, ostensibly to continue the discussion where we left off the
previous week (at least according to our expectations). We got there only to be informed
that, four (4) vendors had been shortlisted through a procurement process (which we
did not know about) to present a demonstration of their systems and designs. We
became heavily enraged and five political parties had to stage walkout.
The EC in its bid to cover up and blur the decision making process, has resorted to
calling only emergency meetings, upon emergency meeting, so as to escape the burden
of having to revisit matters and decisions made in previous meetings.
Fellow Citizens, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press,
We are concerned about the EC’s acts of bad faith and lack of transparency by
proceeding with the procurement process of the new register, when discussions had
barely began. We are concerned about the complete sidelining and disregard for IPAC.
We are deeply concerned about the discarding of consensus building in electoral
programme decision making.

That notwithstanding, the Electoral Commission has recently obtained approval from
Parliament to spend close to GH¢ 833,000,000 to compile a new register for the 2020
General Elections. The budget comprises of GH¢ 443m (4.43 Trillion old Cedis) for the
new Biometric Voter Management System and some whopping GH¢ 390,265,186 (3.9
Trillion old cedis) for the operational cost of the registration exercise. Not only are we
unable to fathom why any citizen can go on this brazen expedition of wasting the tax
payers money, but also outraged by the support of the clueless majority in parliament
led by Hon. Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu, MP for Suame.
It is the considered view of the Resistance, that the argument adduced so far by the EC
and their assigns, do not convince a fly on the need to spend close to a billion Ghana
Cedis on new voter register. Thus, I say to you verily, that the success of our resistance
to the compilation of the register will yield savings of close to about half a billion Ghana
Cedis of the tax payer’s money. This money can be used to build roads, schools,
hospitals, factories and other social projects.

Fellow Citizens, the government is supporting the needless expenditure of this GHC
833 million, at a time when farmers are crying, fishermen are crying, cocoa farmers are
crying, teachers are crying, nurses are crying, contractors are crying, drivers are crying,
businesses are collapsing, and students are losing hope. The teachers, nurses and
contractors are crying because they are owed huge arrears of emoluments and
entitlements by the state. The drivers are crying because the perennial increases in fuel
prices are driving them out of business. The farmers are crying because they cannot
afford the increasing cost of agricultural inputs.

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Media, Fellow Citizens

At this point let me proceed to deal with their main arguments so far. They have argued
that, there has been high incidence of manual verification mostly due to worn-out
fingerprints for person engaged in manual labour (farmers), hence the need to change
the register. The first question is, will the replacement of the register stop people from
engaging in manual labour? Will their fingerprint change overnight because we are
replacing the register? The answer is a big NO! May I repeat, fellow citizens, that this is
by far what appears to be their main reason for the replacement of the register.

Interestingly, the EC have argued that the new register will allow them to use facial
recognition technology for inclusive authentication for those who are unable to be
authenticated using fingerprint. This according to them will cure the high incidence of
manual verification.
First of all we do not have a problem with that, even though the fingerprint, Iris and other
modalities are far more superior to Facial Recognition as revealed by the British
Broadcasting Corporation in a report, which suggested that the failure rates of facial
recognition are even more pronounced when it is deployed on black population.

(https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-50865437)

We however, have a problem with this unjustified fixation on the replacement of the
register as a fit-for-all solution to all the problems of the EC.

Ladies and Gentlemen of the press,

Despite the inherent challenges in use of facial recognition technology, our experts have
indicated that it can be incorporated into the current register, especially as the current
register already contains high resolution photos of voters. This IT solution therefore,
renders the argument of the EC, to replace the current biometric voter register so as to
allow for incorporation of the facial verification system mute, untenable and
unacceptable.

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press,

We hold the view that any attempt to spend an additional cedi of Ghana’s tax payer’s
money on a new register will amount to complete wastage and needless spending of
limited state resources.
We maintain our support for the upgrade of the current register and wish to demand that
the EC considers saving the nation some resources for other social and economic
development projects

Fellow Citizens, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press,

Owing to the foregoing, we extend invitation to the general public, civil society, moral
society, the diplomatic community and the media to join us in making our voices heard
against the decision of the EC to compile a new voters register for the 2020 elections.

Join us in this mass movement to resist this surreptitious agenda to deny the peoples
mandate at the expense of the tax payer.
The Jean Mensah led EC and the government must be reminded that the sovereignty of
Ghana resides in the people. At least the history of this country has provided ample
evidence to the fact that, the peoples’ power when tried or suppressed erupts stronger
in rage like fire.

We call on all to join the Y3NPINI DECLARATION across the country. The Inter-Party
Resistance Against the New Voter Register shall be embarking on a series of public
manifestations across the country, therefore wherever you are, whatever you do, you
can’t miss this opportunity to be part of history.

On Saturday 11th January, 2020 we shall be in Tamale for a mega Tikusayi Korinfohili
Demonstration. The converging point will be the Tamale - Jubilee Park at 6am.
We shall follow this up with the Y3npini Demonstration in Kumasi on Tuesday 21st
January, 2020 and climax it with the Wokp3n33 Demonstration in Accra on Tuesday
28th January, 2020.

Whilst at it, we shall also be embarking on a series of mass picketing exercise across
the country.
Do not be left out in this historic movement. It is your responsibility, my responsibility,
our collective responsibility to ensure that the sanctity and integrity of our democracy is
protected and preserved.

We must make common cause to ensure that the EC does not take the entire nation on
this wasteful and uncertain path that has the potential to plunge this country into crisis.
A peaceful and successful election is nonnegotiable.

Long live the Resistance!!

Long live our Democracy!!
Long live Mother Ghana!!

God bless our Homeland Ghana, and make our Nation Greater and Stronger

Thank you
Thank you
And
Thank you