CPP condemns registration related violence

By Francis Ameyibor, GNA
Accra, May 5, GNA - The Convention People's Party (CPP) has condemned the pockets of violence relating to the on-going limited biometric voter registration exercise across the country.

'It is unacceptable for political thugs to disrupt our electoral system with impunity, the Police Administration must clamp down on their activities and use the legal and court process to jail all those found culpable,' Professor Edmund N. Delle, Chairman of the CPP, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview.

He, therefore, called on the Ghana Police Service to deal with all perpetrators.

Prof. Delle, who was leading a CPP team including Mr Ivor Kobina Greenstreet, the party's presidential candidate for Election 2016, to monitor the exercise, expressed shock at the level of destruction, confusion and personal attacks by political elements of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

Prof Delle appealed to the leadership of the two parties to restrain their followers and advice them to resort to law and order and use formal procedures to address any registration infractions instead of taking the law into their own hands.

He called on the National Peace Council to immediately engage the leadership of the various political parties to dialogue on peaceful conduct, build bridges and renounce political violence.

Prof Delle appealed to the youth who had turned 18 years and all those who had not registered not to allow the pockets of violence to deter them from registering.

He said as per the Electoral Commission's directives all polling stations were demarcated security zones which meant that only authorised personnel were allowed in there; 'so if you are not a qualified electorate please don't go there and cause any trouble'.

The EC's eligibility criteria indicates that to register as a voter; one must be a Ghanaian, 18 years of age or above, of sound mind, a resident, or an ordinary resident of the electoral area in which he or she seeks to register, and not prohibited by any law in force from registering.

A prospective voter is required to provide evidence of identity in any of the following forms: Passport, Driver's licence, National Identification Card, or two guarantors who must be registered voters and must be related - parents, guardians, spouses, or siblings.

Mr Greenstreet expressed disquiet that contrary to the assurances given by the EC that People with Disability (PWDs) would be assisted at the registration centres, 'no assistance exist anywhere to aid them to go through the registration process considering their very peculiar needs'.

He said the EC, at an Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting, noted the concerns raised by the CPP representative regarding the difficulty PWDs went through during registration and election periods.

According to Mr Greenstreet, the EC further gave the assurance that it would ensure that sign language interpreters and toolkits for the blind were available during the registration exercise.

'Sadly, our monitoring of the registration centres nationwide has revealed that no such provision was made.

'As a nation we cannot afford to continue disrespecting PWDs as though they were second class citizens. They must have equal rights and access to the processes of nation building.

'We call on the EC to immediately take steps to redeem their own pledge,' Mr Greenstreet said.

GNA