Keep My Vote Alive Alliance (kmva) To Rally Ghanaians To Participate Actively In The Upcoming Registration Exercise

28.06.2020 LISTEN

The Keep My Vote Alive Alliance wishes to serve notice that it will render its full support to assist all Ghanaians of voting age and of sound mind to register and vote in the upcoming registration exercise organised by the Electoral Commission of Ghana. We additionally call on all Ghanaians not to shirk their constitutional mandate to register and vote in December, 2020.

Following the ruling of the Supreme Court on the matter brought before by the opposition NDC and some private citizens, over the EC’s decision to compile a new voter’s register and further invalidate the use of the old voter’s ID card as proof for registration.

Unfortunately, the main relief, which was sought to pronounce the old voter’s ID card as a valid document for registration, which we all expected would cover majority of Ghanaian voters was not granted. The drama and ambiguity that this judgement was faced with, leaves us to ponder if, indeed, the national interest superseded the right of the primary Ghanaian voter in the adjudication of justice?

Whether we like it or not, we are bound by the SC ruling to go and queue just to acquire a voter identification card at a time that COVID 19 cases are hiking on daily basis.

Additionally, citizens are bound by this ruling to rely on an NIA card as a primary and valid document for registration, whose issuance, quite paradoxically, will only complete beyond the registration period.

Moreso, the SC ruling makes it imperative that the village farmer at Mbredane, who may not have yet acquired the only two valid documents required by the C.I. 126 before he or she can register or rely on two guarantors at a time when health experts have advised people against mass gathering and hence people’s appetite to volunteer as guarantors have diminished.

The EC’s plan to register through the clustering approach, which requires that more people will have to embark on long travels, spending hours in queues at registration centers, is also another factor that would, most likely, constitute a demotivation factor.

KMVA acknowledges these constraints and difficulty which might lead to voter apathy and suppress citizens drive to participate in this upcoming constitutional exercise of registering, which will subsequently disenfranchise millions. It is undoubtedly a huge challenge that we are confronted with, as a result of a deliberate attempt to induce artificial frustrations that could highly likely demotivate many Ghanaians from acquiring their voting rights. It is no fault of anybody, that the NIA failed to complete its registration and issuance of card on time. This, we all are aware, is purely a deliberate ploy, by the government, to clinch unto to power at all cost.

THE KEEP MY VOTE ALIVE ALLIANCE AGENDA

It is against this backdrop, that the *Keep My Vote Alive Alliance- KMVA* has it as our overall objective to ensure, through all legitimate means, that all barriers that seek to and or could potentially exclude the ordinary Ghanaian voter from exercising their civic mandate is totally eliminated.

We urge all and sundry at this critical moment, channel our anger by participating effectively in the upcoming registration exercise and also making it a point to assist families and friends who do not have the registration right to do so. It is important to be mindful of the odd times we have found ourselves and hence, the need to call on Ghanaians to participate in the registration under all observed protocols as enumerated by the EC. Despite these setbacks, KMVA still entreat and charge on every Ghanaian to participate effectively in the upcoming registration process, from the start to the finish.

The Alliance intends to achieve this through ADVOCACY, CAMPAIGNS AND FACILITATION.

By Advocacy we hope to engage all stakeholders (EC, NIA, ALL Political Parties), by highlighting the impediments that may be encountered by citizens across the country during the registration process and ensure all eligible voters have the opportunity to participate in the upcoming registration process in a free and fair manner.

Through our Campaigns, we seek to embark on a nationwide grass root mobilization and campaign to create awareness and sensitize all citizens to get involved in the voter registration processes and providing the needed education on the COVID 19 protocols.

By facilitation, the Alliance will assist all eligible Ghanaians, faced with challenges which has the tendency of disenfranchising them to, get unto the register, so that they can cast their votes in the upcoming December elections. This assistance will be in the form of the mobilization and provision of PPE's, and conveying people to the registration and voting centers, and other logistics that may deem an impediment to citizen’s access to registration.

We therefore appeal to all worthy stakeholders i.e. the E.C, NIA, all Political Parties, the media and the entire Ghanaian populace to support the Alliance to help strengthen and further deepen our Ghanaian democracy, which was toiled for by our forefathers.

We want to at this point, use this platform to condemn, in no uncertain terms, the deployment of military gangs in the Volta region as reported in recent days. Let the sate be reminded that we are only embarking on a normal voting registration exercise and not any civil unrest. Let no body use the state authority to intimidate any voter from exercising his civil right.

Finally, we call on all public spirited Ghanaians who share in our Vision and Mission to get on board and join the Keep My Vote Alive Alliance-KMVA, so that collectively, we create an opportunity for an all-inclusive democracy that can survive the test of time.

WE THANK ALL PATRIOTIC GHANAIANS

We also want to appreciate and congratulate the largest opposition party, the NDC and the private citizens who fought the EC and the State gallantly to ensure that they represented the views of the numerous Ghanaians, who felt threatened of being disenfranchised by the EC’s decision to compile a needless new register, at the Apex court of the land.

H.E the former president of the republic of Ghana, John Dramani Mahamah, as the leader of his party, also deserves our commendation for his show of statesmanship for expeditiously calming the nerves of his party sympathizers, to abide by the supreme court’s decision, despite its outcome being a bitter Pill of a stone to swallow.

BACKGROUND ABOUT THE KEEP MY VOTE ALIVE ALLIANCE-KMVA

Keep My Vote Alive Alliance is a civil society group that seeks to champion and represent the views of the Ghanaian primary voter, minority political groups and other interested parties through ADVOCACY, CAMPAIGNS AND FACILITATION.

The Core mission of the Keep My Vote Alive Alliance-KMVA is to eliminate all barriers and risk associated factors that could potentially inhibit the ordinary voter from participating in the upcoming registration exercise, which is set to commence on ending of June, and for that matter further exclude them from exercising their civic mandate come December, 2020.

Thank you.

Issued by:

Mr. Nicheren Appiah Buadi

Communications Dir./Co-Convener

Contact: 0245266325

Mr. Abdul-Karim Mohammed Awaf

Editor/Dir., Operations/Co-convener

Contact: 0278147167

Signed by:

Mr. Anthony Agee-kum (Kostodian)

Convener

Contact: 0546 440530