Blame EC not gov't for errors on voters' ID cards

Kumasi, May 9, GNA - Ghanaians have been advised not to blame the government but rather the Electoral Commission (EC) for the poor quality and errors on a number of the voters identification (ID) cards that were recently issued to the electorates for the December polls.

Odeneho Kwaku Appiah, immediate past president of the Youth in Action, said since it was the EC which conducted the voters registration exercise and not the government, it was the EC which should bear responsibility for all the lapses.

Odeneho Appiah gave the advice at a day's seminar organised by the Maakro Liberty Club for its members in Kumasi on Saturday. He expressed regret that apart from the pictures being black and white, colours of the Ghanaian flag embossed on a number of the ID cards were also not correctly arranged.

He described the mis-arrangement of the colours of the Ghanaian flag on the ID cards as not only a serious mistake but also an embarrassment to "us as a nation, as the flag signifies and identifies Ghana as a nation".

Odeneho Appiah called on the EC to institute swift measures to rectify all the errors on the ID cards with greater emphasis on re-arranging of the colours of the Ghanaian flag in the right order. He advised that rectification of the errors should be effected before the Election Day.

Odeneho Appiah said correcting the mistakes was crucial since some people could capitalise on such errors to possibly cause confusion on the day of the polls.

He, however, entreated the Ghanaian electorate to continue to exercise restraint and to be tolerant even in the face of serious provocations by their political opponents.

Mr Maxwell Mensah, secretary of the club, urged the youth to refuse to be influenced by monetary gifts by politicians just to create violence with the view to obstructing the elections.