NDC Must Be Thoughtful And Consider The Peace Of The Nation

The LOYALISTS OF NEW PATRIOTIC PARTY (LON) is appalled by the unfortunate conduct of The National Democratic Congress (NDC) towards the Electoral Commission’s decision to compile new voters register to enhance the credibility of the December 2020 election.

The LON believes that, as stipulated by the constitution, the Electoral Commission (EC) is the only constitutionally mandated body that has the authority to revise our voter register, partially or entirely, anytime within the confines and conformity with our laws.

It is in this spirit that we stand by our party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the other 12 remaining political parties, to welcome the decision of the EC to prepare a fresh voter register. Indeed, we are enthused about the strong stance taken by the EC in the face of all the unnecessary agitations by the NDC and their likes.

As enshrined in the Constitution of Ghana, Chapter 7 (Article 46) clearly states that “Except as provided in this Constitution or in any other law not inconsistent with this Constitution, in the performance of its functions, the Electoral Commission, shall not be subject to the direction or control of any person or authority. Section 2 of the Electoral Commissions Act (Act 451) also states in part that the electoral commission shall compile the register of voters and revise it at such periods as may be determined by law.

These provisions in the Constitution clearly give the Electoral Commission the authority to revise the voter's register prior to any election. LOYALISTS OF NPP are, therefore, at loss as to why the NDC will take it upon themselves to incite the public against the EC.

We, members of Loyalists of NPP, have weighed the vast benefits of this fresh voter register going into election 2020 and we are in no doubt that a fresh voter register will eliminate all manner of suspicion surrounding the credibility of our electoral register. It can be recalled that reports of cases of minor registration, foreigners' infiltration of our electoral register in the previous registrations make its credibility questionable for any successful elections.

The Creation of the 6 new regions also makes it very necessary to change the new system for fresh coding of these new regions. Unfortunately, the system, which is the Exhibition exercise stipulated by the law in the past, has not been so helpful to accommodate this.

The 2020 general election is a crucial one and every effort to ensure its success should be encouraged. We, therefore, encourage the sole referee of the Ghanaian elections, the EC, to stand firmly on its grounds and ensure the right things are done. We as well call on fellow Ghanaians to submit themselves to the new voter registration to enable them to exercise their civic responsibilities on the 7th of December 2020.

We can only have sympathies for the other few opposing parties in their fruitless quest to block this move by the EC. This is only an exercise in futility.

We appreciate your concerns as stakeholders but the arguments being raised against the EC can best be described as merely frivolous.

The cost of limited registration during the NDC era was more expensive than full registration under the NPP government. From a technical point of view, the old system cannot be updated. A fresh system needs to be developed to avoid any hitches during the elections.

We are, therefore, calling on our security agencies to deal with any person or group of persons who would foment trouble by way of illegal demonstrations, roadblocks, etc. They should not relent in discharging their duties as law and order officers.

SIGNED

Isaac Nkrumah, Secretary

David Oscar

Kobby Ewusie, Research Officer