Elections are critical matter for every democracy. When it is done well, peace prevails and the contrary happens. The Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana has been mandated with the role of organizing national elections. It is of no doubt that EC is doing all it can to ensure free and fair elections.
Apart from the latest technology that EC has been trying to use, it has also taken measures as part of the electoral process to introduce new rules and regulations to ensure a successful election. Since 1992 major changes have been introduced to the electoral process. This is part of procedures to ensure credible elections which is good for our democratic process.
Even though EC always try its best effort to ensure credible polls every election year, however critical shortcomings in our election procedures came to light in the 2012 election Supreme Court hearing. It came to the surprise of many Ghanaians when the EC as a national electoral body could not come up with a clear and concise definition of OVERVOTING.
It came as a sign of relief when towards election 2016, the Electoral Commission came up with CI 94 to set things clear regarding some grey areas of the election regulations. rules on verification, overvoting, etc which hitherto were not clear have been set straight in the CI 94. The part of the CI 94 that brought me happiness is that on overvoting.
The EC definition set in CI 94 that overvoting occurs when ballot papers in ballot box at the end of the voting period is more than the number of voters verified at the polling station has settle many dissenting voices on the issue. In the past, there used to be many definitions on overvoting which did not help the matter. Reference was not made to the number of people on the voters register because common sense indicates that not everyone will turn up on election day to vote. This will reduce the possibility where there can be connivance to cast ballot for an absentee voter on election day.
Much as I was happy with the new overvoting rule, what pains me is that I did not see any regulation regarding undervoting. If there is overvoting, there is definitely undervoting. The converse of CI 94 rule on overvoting will most precisely give a clear definition of undervoting, where at the end of the voting period, the ballot papers in the ballot box happens to be less than the verified voters at the polling station.
Therefore, if overvoting has punitive measures where results from a particular polling station can be quarantined or cancelled upon further assessment, then undervoting should have equal punitive measures and even more. But as the name undervoting suggests cast ballot papers less than verified voters, it means no foreign material was added. This means the subsequent punitive measures to be applied should be different from when foreign ballot papers are added in the case of overvoting. The type of punitive should be taken in consideration to the conditions under which the undervoting occurs. If it occurs under a situation where a voter intentionally leaves the station without putting his ballot paper in the box, then undervoting under such condition will be deemed not too severe to affect the credibility of the polls of the station. Alternatively, EC should come up with official regulation binding on the voter that once verified and issued with a valid ballot paper, he or she has crossed the rubicon and cannot choose to refrain from casting the ballot. In that case there shall be a designated EC officer to ensure that voters put the cast ballot paper into the box.
If in equal veins the undervoting occurs via ballot snatching, then there can be an EC regulation to ensure that such irregularity will deemed too severe to have affected fair proceedings in which case voting at that particular polling station can be cancelled and organized again if possible. These different punitive measures for the different cases of undervoting will be based on the premise that every crime does not have the same punishment. This will help reduce the incidence of ballot snatching because perpetrators will be discouraged knowing that, after all if they perform such criminal act, elections at that particular polling station can still be reorganized by EC.
Such regulations towards UNDERVOTING especially when it occurs under the incidence of ballot snatching will have the propensity to ensure fairness and make every vote cast count with the EC bearing in mind that votes cannot only be inflated unfairly by unscrupulous means through overvoting but can also be deflated in similar manner via undervoting. It is dangerous that the EC as a national electoral body has not found a viable means to deal with ballot snatching nor has enacted any regulation to that effect.
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