Voters’ register exhibition exercise designed to create confusion – NDC

The opposition National Democratic (NDC) has accused the Electoral Commission of supervising a shambolic voters’ register exhibition exercise.

According to the party, the EC’s failure to provide them with a provisional register, change of codes of polling centres without consultation, absence of expected numbers of registered voters in polling stations among others, are some challenges that the exercise has been fraught with.

General Secretary of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketia said the party is disappointed with the process so far.

“It is a well-calculated plan to create this confusion. When we were getting to the beginning of this exercise and we knew the law they had provided indicated that they have to provide copies of the register even before the exercise begins, we started writing to them.”

“Jean Mensah herself called me on phone, acknowledging receipt of a letter we sent to request for a register and said that ‘oh tell your people we have received the letter but the hard drive onto which the information to be downloaded is not attached.’ Meanwhile, my election director was sitting with the people with the hard drive and they were finding it difficult to provide information so how can you be running a democracy without rule of law. Without speaking to the rules you have established.”

The Exhibition of the Voters Register commenced on Tuesday, September 10 and will end on September 20, 2019.

According to the Electoral Commission, the exercise is taking place in the over 30,000 polling stations nationwide.

The Deputy Commission Chairman in charge of Corporate Services, Dr. Bossman Eric Asare explained that the process is only for correctional purposes and not to capture new registrants.

He, however, added that the exhibition exercise will also allow for requests for name amendments and insertions.

So far the exercise has recorded a low turnout in a number of centres.

EC breaching C.I. on voters exhibition exercise – NDC MP

The Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson Dafeamekpor recently accused the Electoral Commission of acting unlawfully in the ongoing voter register exhibition exercise.

The MP argued that the EC is breaching various regulations of the Constitutional Instrument in the conduct of its exhibition exercise.

“We the NDC are saying that the EC is blatantly breaching various regulations within C.I 91 in respect of the activities in connection with the present exercise of the voters’ register exhibition. Regulation 22 sub-regulation 2 makes it very clear that a copy of the register that the EC seeks to exhibit should be provided to all the registered political parties.”

“As we speak, we the NDC have not received any such copies from the NDC and our checks with the other political parties indicate clearly that they too have not been given copies and this is in clear breach of regulation 22 sub 2. If [EC] you have technical issues with running your website you can issue a press release so we can understand.”