The National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Freddie Blay urged Ghanaians to ignore the “provocation and empty threats” of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) concerning the compilation of a new electoral roll.
According to Freddie Blay, the NDC’s attacks on the EC “were absolutely needless and an attempt to subject the EC to the direction or control” of the group, something he described as unconstitutional and totally misguided.
In a statement issued in Accra yesterday, Mr Blay said that the EC has been justified to conduct the exercise and has the mandate of the constitution to do so.
“We obviously cannot as a people continue wasting precious time on staged debates by the opposition about whether or not the Electoral Commission should go ahead with the compilation of an advanced biometric voters’ register.”
He added that the opposition’s ‘shifting’ stance “from the cost of procuring a new voter register to the cost of lives for going through a progressive electoral process, clearly demonstrates their inconsistencies and hypocrisy”.
Mr Blay also advised civil society organisations Alliance and Inter-Party Resistance against the New Voters’ roll to “spare Ghanaians the provocative and empty threats of chaos, confusion, bloodshed and death in the name of protecting the constitution.”
He said the NPP-led administration “remains committed to protecting lives, providing the funding and necessary support including maintaining law and order that should enable the EC prepare towards conducting a fair and transparent elections come December 2020.”
He therefore urged Ghanaians to continue rallying behind the President and his government for his courageous and decisive leadership over the period, especially during this pandemic.
According to him, efforts by warmongers to suppress the citizenry with fear was to say the least, “wicked, opportunistic and unfortunate. They appear to have embarked on a very long sleep and have missed out on Ghana’s progress since the revolutionary days”.
“There is absolutely no need giving value to the currency of their arguments that Ghana cannot compile a new register due to COVID-19, because it is as bad as an opinion that suggests we cannot hold an election this year, and for that matter it is sterile.”
He added that, “I call on the media to also be measured and circumspect in how they give oxygen and dignity to such fruitless debates.
Any responsible political party leadership would at this point in time be cooperating with the institutions of state mandated to supervise and manage general election in Ghana, making constructive criticisms that would keep such institutions focused on delivering a credible and safe election.”
By Times Reporter
