PRESSURE GROUP CALLS ON EC TO HALT VOTERS’ REGISTRATION EXHIBITION EXERCISE UNTIL PROVISIONAL REGISTER IS ISSUED TO POLITICAL PARTIES

A pressure group called United Voice Change has called on the Electoral Commission of Ghana, led by Jean Mensah, to halt the voter registration exhibition exercise until the provisional register is issued to the various political parties.

The pressure group threatens to picket at the office of the electoral commission if the commission proceeds to commence the exercise.

At a press conference held here in Kumasi on Monday, the Convenor, AntwiANTWI SYLVESTIN RONALD, said Article 42 of the 1992 Constitution enjoins every Ghanaian above 18 to have the right and mandate to vote and I quote, “every citizen of Ghana of eighteen years of age or older and sound mind has the right to vote and is entitled to be registered as a voter for public elections and referenda.” Again, in Article 45 (a), “the EC is to compile the register of voters and revise it at such periods as may be determined by law”.

is calling on Mrs. Jean Adukwei Mensah, Dr. Bossman Asare, and the other members of the Electoral Commission to, as a matter of urgency, postpone their scheduled register exhibition slated for Tuesday, August 20th, to August 27th, 2024.

According to him, the Electoral Commission, led by Madam Jean Adukwei Mensah on May 7th, 2024, opened nominations for voter registration, which came to an end on May 27th, 2024. And on August 1st, 2024, they opened a mop-up voter registration exercise, and today, Jean Mensah’s electoral commission is saying, by their responsibilities, the exhibition will take place tomorrow, August 20th, 2024.

“We ask, What are they going to exhibit since the register to be exhibited is not even ready? We remember that on March 2024, 2024 the opposition NDC had a press conference on some missing or stolen BVD machines which was later confirmed by the Commission and after some weeks or months, on March 13, 2024, the Jean Mensah-led Electoral Commission came out with a statement, which was issued by Dr Bossman Asare, of the arrest of the culprits.

Till today, nothing has become of that issue, not forgetting that these stolen BVDs are the same devices used for voter registration. Ghana is one big peaceful democracy. Despite the changes and democratic experimentations since 1957, we would like to state emphatically that, Jean Mensah and her allies in the Commission cannot be allowed to ruin this country for their selfish, greedy and unholy interest.

We, the United Voices for Change, want to ask the Electoral Commission the following questions: Why is the Jean Mensah Electoral Commission not releasing the registers to the various political parties if the registers are ready for exhibition?

Why are all other political parties, including the NPP, quiet on this important issue that can compromise the elections and affect the results? Or is it because in their case, they were served with the registers some weeks ago? What has become of the suspected culprits of the stolen BVDs that were later arrested in a statement by Dr Bossman Asare? Why has the Electoral Commission failed to make it known to the serial codes or numbers of the stolen BVDS to help the various parties cross-check against the serial numbers showing on the register?

Can those stolen BVDS be used to register people? Yes! Therefore, the only way to check any illegal registration into the register by these stolen BVDs is for the parties to have the serial numbers. Yet, the Jean Mensah-led EC says no! and we in UVC ask, WHAT IS THE SECURITY ISSUE OF STOLEN DEVICES, since the illegal use can compromise our elections?

We ask again, has the Jean Mensah EC thought of the fact that their actions and inactions can throw this state into chaos? Is Jean Mensah aware that, elections are processes and not events? Looking at how things are going, they can cause unrest in the country. Ghana has come far with our democracy and independence and therefore any attempt to jeopardize it will not be entertained”.

“Therefore, we are serving a strong warning to the Jean Mensah-led Electoral Commission to, as a matter of urgency, put a stop to their scheduled voter register exhibition tomorrow and rather release the registers to the political parties and allow them time to go through and prepare before they go ahead with it.”

The group is calling on Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Ga Mantse, Bishop Sam Owusu, UN Peace Ambassador to Ghana, Archbishop Nicholas Duncan Williams, National Chief Imam, and All COSs, to voice out and call the Electoral Commission to order.”

“We are at this press conference to inform the Jean Mensah-led Electoral Commission to communicate to Ghanaians their decision in halt this unholy, chaotic, war-drum-beating move and we want to assure her and her members of the Commission that, the United Voices for Change will resist any attempt by them to plunge this country into turmoil, as this press conference will be followed by an unprecedented demonstration should they go ahead with it”.

By Enock Baffoe /uniquenewsgh.com