Electronic Voting Machine. Source: USA TodayIf you have been following the wonderful world of Ghanaian politricks, then you know that this past Tuesday saw the re-run of part of the 2008 election. Six polling stations in the diamond-enriched constituency of Akwatia in the Eastern region had to be done over. The final outcome of the election appeared inevitable even before the re-run since the ruling party candidate Mr. Baba Jamal needed to win over 80% of all votes cast at these 6 polling stations. This was because the opposition candidate was already ahead by over 3000 votes from 80+ other polling stations in the constituency. Unfortunately for Mr. Jamal the election outcome was not a case of 'third time lucky'.
What got me concerned about this particular election were the media reports of mayhem, loss of life, harassment, damage to property and divisive ethnic undertones that characterised the entire process. In the end, a curfew had to imposed on Akwatia. Such reports of havoc contrast the Ghanaian image garnered from the December 2008 election as the Beacon of African Democracy (BAD) . Speaking of Ghana Election 2008, it was actually stolen ballot boxes from the 6 polling stations in Akwatia that precipitated this August 2009 re-run.
What got me concerned about this particular election were the media reports of mayhem, loss of life, harassment, damage to property and divisive ethnic undertones that characterised the entire process. In the end, a curfew had to imposed on Akwatia. Such reports of havoc contrast the Ghanaian image garnered from the December 2008 election as the Beacon of African Democracy (BAD) . Speaking of Ghana Election 2008, it was actually stolen ballot boxes from the 6 polling stations in Akwatia that precipitated this August 2009 re-run.
So the question bothering me now is how to make elections freer and fairer in the BAD??? Why can't we be making moves towards introducing electronic voting in Ghana? What is electronic voting anyway?
According to the good people at Wikipedia (God bless 'em) electronic voting basically encompasses electronic means of casting votes and electronic means of counting votes. This could be combined with biometric facial recognition software or finger-printing systems to register voters. This would supposedly ensure one voter, one vote. Electronic voting has been used in India, Brazil, the US and a whole bunch of other countries and I can't see why our government cannot start lobby the World Bank/IMF for funds to introduce such systems in Ghana?
Note: Electronic systems are far from perfect. In the 2000 US Presidential election, the infamous failure of electronic punch-card systems in the state of Florida may have affected the overall outcome of the tight race between George Bush and Al Gore. Then there was the weird and wacky satirical film Man of the Year starring Robin Williams that had the completely ludicrous candidate winning the US Presidential Election due to a software glitch in the tallying of votes.
Besides, the deservedly reigning Ghanaian champion of democracy, our electoral commissioner Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan does not think we are ready for biometric systems just yet. He made that point at a forum held at the Ghanaian Centre for Democratic Development (CDD), earlier this year. According to Dr. Afari-Gyan "the incredibility or otherwise of an election depends on multifaceted factors which include the
1. Expertise and skills of the Electoral Commission
2. Timely release of resources by government for the prosecution of the elections,
3. Free and fair reportage by media
4. Contestant conducting civil campaigns.
5. Avoidance of multiple voting
6. The protection of ballot boxes by the security services
7. Speedy adjudication of election disputes"
Dr. Afari-Gyan may have a point but I still believe that electronic voting could break down some of the barriers listed above. So what are feelings out there? Could we benefit from electronic voting in Ghana? Or are we just introducing more havoc to an already chaotic system?
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