The largest political party in the country – the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has accused the Electoral Commission (EC) of foul play in the ongoing Limited Voter Registration exercise. The party is alleging that the electoral management body has deliberately deployed faulty machines to its strongholds. The chairman of the party, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, indicated that this is a calculated effort to suppress votes in their strongholds.
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, September 13, Mr Asiedu Nketiah insisted that the EC is committed to frustrating eligible registrants. “There is not more than two centres where these breakdowns are happening which are in the stronghold of the NPP.”
“All the rest are in the stronghold of the NDC…It is like his excellency when he was complaining about politicking within the bar association which turns to campaign at the bar conference,” he said. However, he warned that the NDC will strictly oppose any attempt(s) by the EC to suppress votes in the exercise. According to him, they will police the process vigorously. The EC, on Tuesday, commenced the registration of new voters across its 268 district offices despite opposition from some political parties.
Last week, the NDC and four other political parties – the Convention People’s Party (CPP), All People’s Congress (APC); Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG); and the Great Consolidated People’s Party (GCPP) – sued the EC at the Supreme Court over the Commission’s decision to restrict the registration exercise to its district offices. But, a date has since not been fixed for the hearing of the case. The reason the exercise is currently underway. The Commission has targeted to register at least 1.35 million people who have turned 18 years old since the last registration exercise in 2020.
By: Ernest K. Arhinful
