Referendum: NDC to hunt EC commissioners’ if election fraud occurs in 2020

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has served notice that it will demand the immediate resignation of the Electoral Commission Chairperson, Jean Mensa and her commissioners should they find out the recent referendum was rigged as alleged.

According to the party, the EC will face it wrath if the upcoming district level election also records what they describe as gross violations, manipulation and abuse of the electoral processes in the referendum recur.

During the December 27, 2018 referenda for the creation of the six new regions, videos of some persons allegedly thumbprinting multiple ballot papers went viral on social media.

But, addressing the press on Thursday, Deputy General Secretary of the party, Peter Boamah Otukonor, said the matters that arose during the just ended referendum do not inspire confidence in the current leadership of the commission, adding that the Jean Mensa- led administration is a looming disaster with a potential to reverse Ghana's democratic gains.

“On account of the incompetence of the EC, the evidence of electoral infractions perpetuated in the referenda and the direct involvement of electoral officials in the massive electoral fraud; we will follow closely, the performance of the new leadership at the Electoral Commission in subsequent elections including the district assembly election.”

“Jean Mensa has failed in the first test in the process leading to the conduct of the referenda. A repeat of this shambolic display will leave us with no choice than to demand for the immediate resignation of Jean Mensa and her team, he added.

EC must publish findings of probe into alleged referenda malpractices – NDC

Earlier, the NDC called on the EC to publish the findings of its investigations into alleged malpractices during the referenda for the creation of new regions.

Deputy General Secretary for the NDC, Peter Otukonor said the party wants to prevent a recurrence of such alleged malpractices in the 2020 general elections, thus their call.

“This is a serious matter which threatens the democracy of this country, which threatens the integrity of our electoral process and we expected that level of alacrity. I saw a statement from them that they are going to investigate. We expect that there will be a very thorough investigation and the report must be known to the public and the actions and directive that will come from the report will be made public so everybody will see how the EC intends to forestall such occurrence in the general election because if this is how it is going to go then we in the NDC can assure the Electoral Commission that we are going to resist any attempt by the NPP and their assigns to rig the 2020 polls.”

Staff who engaged in referendum malpractices won't be spared – EC

The Electoral Commission (EC) has said it will not shield any of its staff found culpable in alleged malpractices during the just ended referendum for the creation of new regions.

“The Electoral Commission will not shield any staff, permanent or temporary who is found to have violated the law,” the EC said in a statement.

The Commission says it has contacted its regional officers and the security agencies to verify the authenticity or otherwise of the videos.

“As an institution that has fairness, transparency and integrity as a hallmark of its operations, we are focused on ensuring that the will of the people I upheld at all times.”

---citinewsroom