Ghana: Prisoners to vote in election 2012

Dr. Kwadwo Afrai-Gyan, Chairman of the Electoral Commission

(MyCommunityPortal) Inmates of the various prisoners in Ghana will get the chance to exercise their franchise in the 2012 general elections following a Supreme Court ruling that gave the green light. A follow up by the Blog, mycommunityportal  has revealed that the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana is putting measures in place to register the prisoners to enable them vote in the coming general elections.

The Chairman of the EC, Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan confirmed this to the general public when he granted an interview to CitiFM, a local radio station based in Accra. He told the public that the EC was respecting a Supreme Court ruling that ruled that the prisoners should be allowed to exercise their franchise.

“I can assure you that prisoners will vote in 2012,” Dr. Afari-Gyan was quoted as saying on Citi News adding “It doesn’t require special money for prisoners to vote. We’ll register them and register them as we register anybody. People who are worried let them worry about it.”

The EC is currently embarking on a major reform to have a clean voters’ register for the 2012 general elections. As part of this reform, the EC will embark on biometric voter’s register to avoid double registration of voters.

According to Dr. Afari-Gyan, the same voters’ register will be used for the prisoners in the 2012 general elections.

The President of Ghana, John Evans Atta Mills had earlier given indication that his administration is in full support of the decision.

The largest opposition, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) early this morning also gave its blessing for the giant move EC to give way for prisoners to vote but wondered whether the votes cast would be separated from the constituency where a particular prison is cited or would be counted as part of votes cast in that constituency.

The Chairman of the NPP, Jake Otanka Obetsebi Lamptey said until such issues are addressed, his party does not have any problem with the move by the EC.