DI: Use Wulensi by-election as pilot exercise for biometric register and verification

The Danquah Institute has learnt with some regret the news that the Electoral Commission intends to use the old 2008 voters' register for the upcoming July 31 Wulensi by-election.

We write to encourage the EC to have a rethink and proactively take the opportunity that this unexpected by-election represents to use Wulensi as a pilot test for the new technology of using a biometric voters' list and biometric verification system for our general elections.

While we appreciate the fact that the cleaning up exercise has its own time table and that the exercise must be done as a whole in order to get a comprehensively credible voters' list for December 7, we believe the EC can still isolate the estimated 36,000 Wulensi voters' list, work on any challenges, et al, and prepare it for exhibition in time for July 31.

All this may be done without necessarily compromising the integrity of the new nationwide voters' list. The task then would be to ensure that the biometric data of persons appearing on the Wulensi list would not be duplicated elsewhere.

It is our view that the advantages of using Wulensi as a test case for this important democratic national (and international) assignment far outweigh any difficulties that may be cited against it.

The Danquah Institute will, therefore, appeal to the EC to go ahead and use the Wulensi by-election as an opportunity to test its readiness and that of the electorate towards the successful use of the biometric voter register and verification equipment on 7th December, 2012.

We cannot let this wonderful opportunity to educate the whole nation on this new system pass us by.

.....signed......

Nana Attobrah Quaicoe

Head of Research

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