CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

My goal in this study is to assess the effects of the biometric voter registration and verification system introduced in Ghana’s 2012 and 2016 elections. The study focused on these key research questions: Why did the Electoral Commission of Ghana embark on biometric voter registration and verification? To what extent has the biometric voter registration and verification system contributed to credible elections in Ghana? What challenges have accompanied Ghana’s biometric voter registration and verification implementation? What is the general perception of voters towards the biometric voting system introduced into Ghanaian elections?

Following the third wave of democratization in Africa, Ghana returned to democratic dispensation in 1992 after years of military regime. Ever since, the country has proven to be one of the most progressive electoral democracies in Sub-Saharan Africa (Okrah, 2015). By 2016, the country has conducted seven relatively successful elections at four years interval beginning from 1992. Until 2012, when biometric voter registration and verification (BVRV) system was first introduced for Ghana’s general elections, the country used the Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) system to register eligible voters. The registration of voters was computerized but the registration process did not include collecting the biometric details of prospective voters. Equally, during elections voters were verified manually by an electoral officer absent a biometric or computerized identification system (CODEO, 2012). Using this voting system the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana conducted five relatively successful elections. These elections were generally recognized by both domestic and international election observers like CODEO and NDI as peaceful, credible, and successful (CODEO, 2012; NDI, 2016).

Within this period, two of the elections resulted in successful transition of power from a ruling party to an opposition party. These success stories however were not without challenges to election administration. A recurring theme of the (traditional) voting system1 encompassed unqualified voter registrations (registration by minors and non-Ghanaians), voter impersonation, multiple registrations, multiple voting, ballot stuffing, carousel voting, and bloated electoral register, inter alia (Debrah, 2015). CODEO (2012) generally found that the failure of the Electoral Commission to produce a voters’ register and verification system regarded by all stakeholders as credible presented a major setback in Ghana’s electoral administration.

In the bid to promote transparent and credible elections the Electoral Commission received concerns from individuals, civil society organizations, political parties, and other electoral stakeholders toward the need to adopt new reforms to solve the problems associated with the electoral system (Oquaye, 2012; CODEO, 2012). With the Authority vested in the Electoral Commission to make reforms in Article 45 (a) and (f) of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution2 coupled with the search for a solution to the aforementioned electoral irregularities associated with the electioneering process, the Electoral Commission on 24th March, 2012 introduced the biometric voting system which was in two sections: the biometric voter registration and biometric voter verification (CODEO, 2013; Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, 2017). This reform was primarily expected to overcome the major challenges associated with the traditional voter registration and verification system (CDD-Ghana 2012). However, according to Gelb and Diofasi (2016) biometric

1 Traditional voting system in this study refers to the Optical Mark Recognition system and the manual voter verification system that were employed for Ghanaian elections before 2012 (i.e. from 1992 to 2008).

2 Article 45 (a) and (f) of the 1992 Republican Constitution of Ghana stipulates that: The Electoral Commission of Ghana shall have among others the following functions – (a) to compile the register of voters and revise it at such periods as may be determined by law; (f) to perform such other functions as may be prescribed by law

technologies in elections when not properly handled may undermine voters trust and confidence; give rise to allegations of electoral fraud; and consequently aggravate the very problems they were supposed to prevent. This study therefore seeks to investigate Ghana’s experience with the 2012/2016 biometric voter registration and verification system and the dynamics that have transpired over the years.

      Research Background

The democratization process of many developing countries particularly Africa began to unfold after the demise of the cold war. Fukuyama (1992), notes that the era marked the adoption of western liberal democracy as the final form of human development. By 2003, about sixty percent of the world’s states were considered formal democracies (Diamond, 2006; Van de Walle, 2005). In lieu of the minimalists’ definition of democracy3, about one hundred and twenty-three (123) states including fifty (50) African countries had become electoral democracies as of 2007 notwithstanding how imperfect they might be (Lindberg, 2007; Schumpeter, 1947; 1954).

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