With all the recent agitations by all the political parties in the country, pulling in all directions- for the establishment of a new voters register- the Electoral Commission has to try and find that middle ground that seemingly accommodates all the view points.

In that vein, a five member panel has been selected by the commission to hold a public hearing on the matter of the register. The panel would meet on consecutive days to consider all the arguments being put forward for either getting a new register or keeping the old one.

The five members of the committee includes…

His Lordship Professor V.C.R.A.C. Crabbe, Co-Chair of the Coalition for Domestic Election Observers, (CODEO), former Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana, former Professor of Law, and former Electoral Commissioner of Ghana;

Most Reverend Professor Emmanuel Asante, former Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church of Ghana and Chairman of the National Peace Council;

Dr. Grace Bediako, Former Head of the Statistical Servuce and former member of the National Development Planning Commission;

Dr. Nii Narku Quaynor, a renowned computer scientist, Chairman of the National Information Technology Agency (NITA) Board of Directors, and President of the Internet Society of Ghana; and

Maulvi Bin Salih, Ameer of the Ahmadiyya Mission of Ghana.

In a press release announcing the panel, the commission said…

“In order to assure a transparent and accountable process for examining and determining the petitions, the EC has assembled a Panel of Eminent Ghanaians to hold a two-day public hearing on the issue. The hearings will take place on Thursday and Friday, the 29th and 30th of October, 2015 at Alisa Hotel, North Ridge, Accra from 10:00hrs to 13:00hrs and 14:00hrs to 17:00hrs daily.

“The Panel of five will conduct the hearings in a free, transparent, fair and objective manner. The hearings will also be broadcast live on radio, television and on the internet for the benefit of Ghanaians who cannot attend but wish to follow the proceedings. The findings and recommendations of the Panel will be presented to the EC for final decision and communication to the public.”