Limited Voter Registration: We Are Serious And Vigilant - NPP Chairman

Mr Ishmael Ashietey

The Electoral Commission’s limited voter registration took off on Thursday of 28^th April, 2016 with high expectation from all political parties for a smooth exercise, but the New Patriotic Party (NPP) seem to be more interested in the process more than ever. This probably is to avert any challenge in Ghana’s apex court as seen during the eight months long of election petition hearing immediately after the 2012 general polls.

It is for this reason that the NPP Greater Accra Regional Chairman Ishmael Ashietey told the host of Ghana Dadwen bright Kwesi asempa, news and current affairs program on Onua 95.1 fm that the party has never been serious and vigilant in any electoral process like this year’s limited registration.

“We want to have a clean and perfect voters’ document and we don’t want to have a doubtful register this year, we want to have an incontrovertible winner in this year’s election, so we are serious and vigilant” the Greater Accra main opposition Chairman said in an interview on Onua fm on Thursday. This was after he toured some registration centres to ascertain situations pertaining the limited registration.

On some challenges he observed whiles going round, Mr Ishmael Ashietey said although some of the machines malfunctioned, but they were quickly sorted out and the exercise proceeded calmly. He however was skeptical of EC’s expectations of adding some 1.2 million fresh voters to the existing voters in the books of the EC, saying the party in its own independent analysis is expecting an estimate of 600,000 new registrants, questioning the rationale behind the 1.2 million figures as suggested by Madam Charlotte Osei and the electoral commission. “We don’t know where from that 1.2 million the EC said, we estimated about 600,000 new voters at the end of the limited registration exercise”

It will be recalled that Madam CharlotteOsei at the launch of a five year development plan for the Electoral Commission has stated that it is targeting about 1.2 million people in the limited voters' registration exercise. Stressing that they are ready for the limited registration exercise with all logistics needed for a smooth execution has been dispatched across the country. However Mr Ishmael Ashietey did not only doubt the 1.2 million target set by the EC chairperson but also called on the electoral body to use the10 days exercise as a litmus test for the November 7 general elections.

Meanwhile his counterpart Mr Joseph Ade Coker the Greater Accra Chairman of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) has described the first day of the 10 days exercise as encouraging.

He appealed to the party’s agents at various centers to stay focus and vigilant. “Elections are won during the preparation stage, and we can’t afford to drop our guards now”