The Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) has deployed 275 persons to observe the entire process of voters’ register exhibition exercise conducted by the Electoral Commission (EC) from Monday July 18 to Sunday, August 7.
The observers will be stationed at selected exhibition centers in all the 275 constituencies and will submit regular reports which will be analyzed and the findings shared with key stakeholders and the public.
A statement signed by the CODEO National Coordinator, Albert Arhin, said the observers will be monitoring the setting up of the exhibition centers, opening of the centers, availability of materials, the functioning of equipment of the Biometric Verification Device (BVD), compliance with exhibition procedures and the conduct of authorized officials and party agents
“Observers of CODEO, who will be stationed at sampled exhibition centers in all the 275 constituencies, will submit regular reports which will be analyzed and the key findings shared with key stakeholders and the general public,” the statement added.
CODEO also cautioned against the type of unlawful acts it took note of during the limited voter registration exercise.
“CODEO hopes that it will not observe some of the unlawful acts and behaviours of party agents as happened during the limited voter registration exercise. In the same context, CODEO entreats EC temporary staff to strictly follow the rules and procedures as established by the EC during their trainings.”
Find below the full statement from CODEO.
CODEO DEPLOYS OBSERVERS FOR THE 2016 VOTER REGISTER EXHIBITION EXERCISE
The Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) will observe the exhibition of the provisional voters’ register exercise to be conducted by the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana from Monday 18th July, 2016 to Sunday 7th August, 2016.
CODEO, which will deploy a total of 275 of its observers, will observe the entire process of the exhibition exercise, including the setting up of the exhibition centers, opening of the centers, availability of materials, the functioning of equipment of the Biometric Verification Device (BVD), compliance with exhibition procedures, conduct of authorized officials and party agents. Observers of CODEO, who will be stationed at sampled exhibition centers in all the 275 constituencies, will submit regular reports which will be analyzed and the key findings shared with key stakeholders and the general public.
All CODEO observers have been trained and equipped with the necessary information to undertake this observation exercise. CODEO observers have also received accreditation from the EC. CODEO calls on all qualified citizens to take an active part in the exhibition process to fulfill their civic duty, and also to help the Electoral Commission to carry out its mandate.
CODEO also recommends to the EC to reinforce its publicity and public education of the aforementioned exercise. Finally, CODEO urges citizens and, particularly, political party agents to adhere to laid down rules and procedures for their concerns to be addressed and not to resort to any acts that will mar the conduct of this exercise.
CODEO hopes that it will not observe some of the unlawful acts and behaviours of party agents as happened during the limited voter registration exercise. In the same context, CODEO entreats EC temporary staff to strictly follow the rules and procedures as established by the EC during their trainings. In a related activity, CODEO has also deployed a total of 138 long-term pre-election observers in 138 sampled constituencies in all the 10 regions of Ghana.
These observers, deployed for four months (July-November), will submit bi-weekly reports on general political and electoral environment. CODEO observation of these exercises is made possible with the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Signed: Albert Arhin, National Coordinator
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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmnline.com/Ghana