Opposition Parties Cancel Planned Meeting With EC Over Controversial New Register

WhatsUp News has received copy of a statement purported to be from the Inter-party Resistance Against the New Voter’s Register (IPRANVR), announcing its decision to cancel the planned dialogue with the EC over the new register.

The statement, signed by Mr. Bernard Mornah, National Chairman of the Peoples National Convention (PNC) and a leading member of the resistance movement, explained that it has no reason to go on with the dialogue because of bad faith shown by the EC.

“It is our considered view that, the EC is taking the anger and the will of the people for granted by spiting the good conscience of the Resistance in the invitation of political parties to a meeting with the Committee of Eminent Advisors for further deliberations on the said matter and yet going ahead to announce a date for the commencement of same. 

“In view of the conduct of the EC, the Resistance wishes to announce our inability to oblige with the earlier announcement of the momentary suspension of our public manifestations and further declare that, we shall proceed with the series of mass actions earlier outlined.

“We shall in due course announce the form, venue and dates for such actions to drum home further the need to speedily drop this dangerous and wasteful thought of compiling a new register,” the statement said.

The development effectively brings to an end a window of compromise that had developed between the EC, which has announced its intent to compile a new register, and the opposition parties which are opposed to it.

The window of opportunity for dialogue resulted after the EC’s Eminent Committee of Advisors had counseled that the Commission puls the brakes on the move to compile the new register and dialogue more with stakeholders.

In response, the opposition parties had used the climax of the Ashanti regional leg of the demonstration against the new register to announce its suspension of the Greater Accra leg of the demonstration.

However, just a day after the announcement by the opposition parties, the EC announced that it is going ahead with the compilation of the new register in May.

“The Inter-party Resistance Against the New Voter’s Register decries the act of bad faith expressed by the Electoral Commission of Ghana in the syndicated publication of the date for the commencement of the new voter’s registration exercise,” the statement said.

The statement recounted that, “n a meeting of the Resistance, held on Thursday, 23 January, we took a disturbing note of the ECs declaration of April 18 as the beginning of the compilation of the new register and its subsequent publication in the state media without recourse to the planned engagement of the stakeholders at a meeting scheduled for 30 January. This we consider not only an act of bad faith but also an act of utter disrespect and disregard to the ECs own establishment, the Committee of Eminent Advisors and the Civil Society Organizations involved in this discussions.
 
“We recount for the purpose of emphasis, the Resistance announcement at the ‘Y3npini’ Demonstration in Kumasi last Tuesday, to suspend our planned public manifestation in Accra for one week pending the engagement with the EC, as a sign of good faith to the EC, respect to the ECs Committee of Eminent Advisors and a show of immense regard to His Eminence Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Ashantihene, who has requested for calm as they mediate the impasse.”