Afrikania Mission Asks EC To Stop The Compilation Of New Voters Register

                

Afrikania Mission, the religious fellowship for African traditional worshipers has added its voice to the clamor for the Electoral Commission to abandon its controversial compilation of a new voters register for the 2020 election.

In a press release, the Mission warned that times are not ideal for the exercise, pointing out that the EC is swimming against the tide of public opinion in its decision to go ahead with the compilation of the new register.

“..the Afrikania mission, as an organization with a large membership has the responsibility to protect its members against anything that has the potential of affecting their well-being negatively.

“We therefore want to add our voice to the several voices that stand against the compilation of the new voters register by the EC through its Chairperson, MAD. JEAN ADUKWEI MENSAH to reconsider it’s decision to compile the new voters register for December 2020 election.”

The release was signed by the Head of the Afrikania Mission, Osofo Komfo Atsu Kove.

It is coming after the EC fixed June 30 as start date for the compilation of the new voters’ register in spite of resistance from many in the public, including the opposition National Democratic Congress which is at the Supreme Court over the issue.

Also there are many private Ghanaians who have filed suits against the EC over the issue, after the EC snubbed everybody, including the National House of Chiefs, Civil Society Organizations, the clergy and even former Vice Chancellors.

The Afrikania Mission statement expatiated its position through three arguments including the fact that many of the Mission’s members do not have passports or the NIA cards which the EC is making the main requirements for proof of nationality.

“The time to the election is too short to guarantee the peaceful and accurate process of new registration.

“We have also noticed that a lot of our members have neither passport nor NIA CARD to register before guaranteeing for one another. It is also a plain fact that a lot of Ghanaians did not get the chance to register for the NIA CARD due to the rushing way the registration was done, for that matter they will be disenfranchised.

“We are not in our normal times”, as the President himself puts it. (COvID 19)
As a conclusion, we are humbly appealing to the government to exercise its authority by stopping the Electoral Commission from compiling a new voter register this time. Anything that will disturb the peace that we are all enjoying in Ghana, will also affect AFRIKANIA MISSION as well since we all.”

The statement warned that the EC’s intransigence could lead to unnecessary tensions, saying civilo wars that happened in some other countries started this way.