Elvis Afriyie
Ankrah, the Director of Elections for the National Democratic Congress (NDC)
has alleged that the Electoral Commission (EC) is going back on some decisions
it took earlier creating conditions that will make it unfavourable for some
citizens to register and exercise their voting rights on December 7.
He catalogued a number of issues which he
alleged were inconsistencies and contradictions by the EC in their dealings
with the NDC and some citizens over the new voters’ registration exercise.
According to Mr Ankrah, the NDC has been
consistent with its opposition to a new voters’ roll, insisting that majority
of Ghanaians could be denied their voting rights should the EC go ahead with
its decision.
However, the EC had maintained that a new
voters’ register was the best way of ensuring it delivered on mandate of free,
fair, credible and transparent elections, a position which appeared to have
absolute approval of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Last week, the press conferences from NPP and
NDC, the major protagonists in the debate showed yet again their respective
resolve to keep accusing each other and ignore role of facts, evidence and
reason in public discourse.
Mr Ankrah indicated that “when the debate about
a new voters’ register commenced, we went round, speaking to civil society and
held press conferences, in response EC produced documents, asked themselves a
question because they were responding to issues, they responded ‘no’.
“The EC will use existing data of voters during registration of voters into the new voters’ register, to be registered into the new register existing voters need to only present their existing voter’s ID card to the registration officer, at IPAC we asked them if they were going to use the old voter’s ID, they said ‘yes’, are you going to use the NIA? They said ‘no’.
“If a public institution like EC, you inform the citizenry you are going to use a particular card which is germane to all discussions, for strange reason you send a CI to Parliament, in CI voters’ register which consistently has been part of processes is taken out and requirement are only passport and NIA card,” Mr Ankrah fumed -ghanaweb.com
