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The new Patriotic Party (PNP) that it governs is conspiring with the Electoral Commission (CE) and the National Identification Authority (NIA) to manipulate the 2020 elections.
The opposition Democratic National Congress (NDC) has testified at a press conference in Accra.
According to the party, the activities of the NIA and the Electoral Commission before the 2020 polls are aimed at making this possible.
The Electoral Commission has submitted to Parliament a Constitutional Instrument to amend C.I 91 so that the Ghana card and passports are the only form of identification before one can be included in the new voter registration yet to be compiled.
According to the NDC, of the more than 17 million people who have registered for the Ghana card, only about 6 million have received their cards, a development that the party says will deprive many Ghanaians of their rights.
Addressing the media today, Thursday, May 14, 2020, NDC National President Samuel Ofosu Ampofo argued that many Ghanaians will not have the opportunity to register to identify their voters if the EC decides to proceed with its new registry.
“Considering the numbers that have been generated, it shows that if the Electoral Commission decided to embark on a new voter registry, what it means is that all of these people who don’t have NIA cards would have to go and swear an affidavit or wait until some people are registered and guaranteed. This exercise will be grouped together and, according to them, will take eight days. Essentially, at the end of the day, you will notice that several people will be frustrated and will not have the opportunity to register … That it is a deliberate attempt to suppress votes and ensure that as many people as possible cannot make it available. ”
“Once again, considering the time constraints on the nation by COVID-19, this is not only impractical, but simply defies common sense and will surely deprive many voters if the EC is allowed to follow this rather dangerous and dangerous path. Ofosu Ampofo said.
NIA prioritized the Ashanti Region
Ofosu Ampofo also alleged that the National Identification Authority prioritized the Ashanti Region during its registration exercise, as the region is reported to be a fortress of the nuclear power plant.
He said the NIA deployed several of its teams to the region in an attempt to capture more people so that the PNP could get more voters captured on the electoral roll yet to be compiled.
“The inclusion of the existing voter identification card in the registration requirements for the voter identification card and any new voter identification is essential and non-negotiable, in stark contrast to the deletion of the registration of the Ghana card in the Most of the regions known to be the NDC fortress. The NIA led by Ken Attafuah massively mobilized an unprecedented number of registration teams for the exercise at the nuclear power plant fortress in the Ashanti region. Worth noting that, prior to registration in the Ashanti region, an average of 2,000 registration teams were deployed per region, however, when it was the turn of the Ashanti region, the NIA miraculously increased the number of teams for the exercise to 5,692 from 2,000 that were used on average in other regions ”, he alleged.
Groups against decision
The plan to compile a new registry before the December general election has sparked much controversy over time, with many parties and groups disagreeing with the measure.
The Inter-Party Resistance Register against New Voters, a group made up of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), the Popular Party of the Convention (CPP), the National People’s Convention (PNC), the Eagle Party, the All Party the Peoples (APC), the Gran Popular Popular Consolidado El Partido (GCPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have repeatedly shown their disappointment at the EC decision.
Eighteen Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) have also rejected the Electoral Commission’s proposal to compile a new electoral roll before the 2020 elections.
CSOs are Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC), IMANI Africa, SEND Ghana, Africa Center for International Law and Accountability (ACILA), Financial Accountability and Transparency – Africa (FAT-Africa), Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Youth Bridge Foundation, West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI), Citizen Movement against Corruption (CMaC) and Center for the Defense of Human Rights (HRAC).
These groups have cited the reason for their rejection as, among other things, a waste of taxpayers’ money.
They prefer that the CE update the current software instead of acquiring a new one. Meanwhile, efforts to resolve differences, including recourse to the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) and the Eminent Advisory Committee of the Electoral Commission, have been futile.
Read the full statement below:
