By Julius Satsi, GNA
Accra, Jan. 23, GNA – Mr James Kobina Bomfeh
Junior, the Acting Secretary of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) Thursday
said technology is an enabler and not a panacea to solving electoral
irregularities.
He said just having a Biometric Voter
Management System (BMVS) did not automatically guarantee the sacred principle
of one person–one vote as there could be manipulations of the systems in many
ways including programming hitches and poorly assembled hardware.
Mr Bomfeh Jr, in an analytical paper copied
to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on the debate over the compilation of a new
voters register, said there could also be a deliberate waive or suspension of
the rules guiding the process such as not administering verification
procedures.
The analytical paper, which was an
expression of his personal views and not that of the CPP, said the debate had
characterised the decision of the Electoral Commission (EC) to both procure a
new BVMS and compile new voters register.
Mr Bomfeh Jr said the current system was
first introduced in March 2012 during the era of Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, the
Former Electoral Commission Chairman, with reluctance and tags.
He said with all the possible breaches, the
call for an improved biometric technology, no matter how sophisticated, should
be properly situated in the context of supporting the controversial human
factor than a replacement.
He said the EC needed to resolve strongly
that it was embarking on the exercise to procure a new BVMS with the right
attitude of making it work to near perfection.
“The old wrong attitudes must give way for
new focused driven attitudes of a positive orientation that embraces consistent
and constant improvement,” he said.
Mr Bomfeh Jr called on all and sundry to
discuss the issues presented as the justification for the acquisition of the
BVMS and compilation of the new voters register rather than trying to shoot
down every point in order to give concrete reasons for a resistance.
GNA