‘Yenpini’ Demo Hit Kumasi Against New Voters' Register

The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) and other parties against new voters' register are protesting on the streets of Kumasi in Ashanti region today.

The protest is part of series of demonstration to kick against the compilation of the new register given the fact that, a new register is a waste of taxpayers money and could also create tension since the election is close.

The electoral commission, however, insists they will go ahead and create the register despite the disagreement by the parties and civil society organisations.

Last week, a coalition of major Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and key individuals under the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) in a statement collectively rejected the decision of the Electoral Commission (EC) to compile a new voters’ register ahead of this year’s general elections.

The coalition, numbering about eighteen (18) CSOs are the latest to join several groups to criticize the EC’s plan to introduce a new voter management system for the upcoming elections.

The members of the coalition include the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC), IMANI Africa, SEND Ghana, Africa Centre for International Law and Accountability (ACILA), Financial Accountability and Transparency, Africa (FAT-Africa), Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) and Youth Bridge Foundation.

The others are the West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI), Citizens Movement against Corruption (CMaC), Human Rights Advocacy Centre (HRAC), Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF), Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG), Parliamentary Network Africa (PNA), Community Focus Foundation Ghana (CFF-Ghana), PACKS-Africa and the Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC).

The first protest to challenge plans of the new register was held at Tamale in the Northern region few weeks ago.

---starrfmonline