NDC Accuses EC Of Pushing For New Voters’ Register To Rig 2020 For NPP

The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has reiterated its stance against the Electoral Commission’s insistent move to compile e new voters’ register for the 2020 election.

At a press conference that the NDC held today, General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia accused the EC of intransigence over the compilation of a new register because of an agenda to repeat a rigging tactic that the NPP had used to win the 2016 election.

“The current register was the register that was used to elect Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the NPP into office. The details of that election are yet to be gazetted by the EC but if the results as announced are to be believed, then Nana Akufo-Addo won with majority of almost one million votes. Therefore if anybody should be complaining about the register, it should be the NDC as the losing party. But we are not complaining. In fact, we are saying that let us use the same register so that given the state of our knowledge of the shenanigans that were played by the NPP in the 2016 elections, we will see whether they can win again,” Mr. Asiedu Nketia said.

According to him, Jean Mensah and Bossman Asare who head the EC are pushing for a new register as part of moves to create opportunities to suppress votes in the NDC’s strongholds, especially Volta Region, and artificially boost voter numbers in the NPP’s strongholds.

He said the NDC’s sentiments are shared by the majority of Ghanaians.

“Many Ghanaians including NDC hold the view that there is something sinister behind the ploy by the Jean Mensah-Bossman Asare-led EC to compile a new voters’ register. Their conduct so far portends a devious plan to set the stage to suppress voter numbers in the strongholds of the NDC bloat the voter numbers in the strongholds of the NPP. we have been led to the impression that the current Chairman of the EC sees her mandate only in terms of getting Nana Akufo-Addo re-elected even if it means subverting the hard-won reputation of the otherwise respected institution.”

Mr. Asiedu Nketia said, the EC’s justification that next year’s population and housing census makes it imperative to abandon the old register totally and compile a new one is untenable, asking whether at the turn of every decade the EC will henceforth compile a new register because of censuses.

He also dismissed claims that the old biometric machines are no longer fit for purpose as far as the 2020 election is concerned, asking why the EC used it to run the Local-level elections.

According to him, the NDC is also worried about the huge cost that the EC is attempting to saddle Ghanaians with through the compilation of this new register.

Apart from what he said are the EC’s generic excuses, he said the NDC’s request for specific issues with the old register has not been responded to by the EC.

Meanwhile, the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) has held a press conference countering the NDC stance.

Yaw Buabeng Asamoah, the NPP’s Communications Director who addressed that press conference, once the EC has justified the need for a new register, it is all for it.

The NPP has the Majority in Parliament where the EC has already submitted a budget of Ghc444million for approval so it can go ahead with the process.