Dr. Edward Omane Boamah, the NDC’s Director of Elections and IT, has directed District Commission agents to ignore the controversial and biased instruction from the Electoral Commission’s (EC) Deputy Chairman of Operations, which prohibited party agents from observing the ongoing vote transfer process.
Dr. Omane accused the EC Deputy Chairman of issuing a directive that facilitates gerrymandering by the ruling NPP, alleging that the instruction is a deliberate attempt to manipulate electoral boundaries for political gain.
“The Deputy Chairman Operations of the Electoral Commission (EC) must return the bribe he has taken from the ruling NPP if he has been induced to aid gerrymandering.What does the EC and the NPP have to hide such that they do not want Agents of political parties to observe the ongoing voter transfer exercise?”
Dr. Edward Omane Boamah
Furthermore,Dr. Omane Boamah questioned if the EC would prevent legitimate Civil Society Organisations from observing the voter transfer process, and demanded to know what the EC is trying to hide by blocking transparency and accountability in the electoral process.
The NDC patriot pointed out that Ghanaians are facing a highly volatile electoral landscape, where the EC has demonstrated its inability to perform even basic arithmetic, as evident in its botched collation of the 2020 Presidential election results, eroding trust in the electoral process.
Additionally, Dr. Omane Boamah sarcastically remarked that the EC has demonstrated, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that using basic Excel to tally registered voters is apparently more challenging than grasping quantum mechanics, highlighting the commission’s glaring ineptitude in managing even the simplest aspects of electoral processes.
As such, Dr. Omane Boamah posed a pointed question, asking how the EC expects the NDC and any rational Ghanaian to have confidence in their ability to manage the electoral process effectively, without rigorous oversight and accountability, given their recent track record of incompetence and mishaps.
EC Questioned On Voter Transfer Verification
Dr. Edward Omane Boamah further queried the EC’s wisdom in entrusting a single Returning Officer with the sole responsibility of verifying the 12-month residency requirement for vote transfers, particularly in a society where informal systems and networks predominate, and documentary proof of residency is often scarce or unreliable.
As such, Dr. Omane Boamah asserted that the EC’s directive to bar political party agents from observing the voter transfer exercise has once again demonstrated to the NDC that the Commission is not committed to ensuring free, fair, and transparent elections, thereby reinforcing the party’s concerns about the EC’s neutrality and credibility.
Dr. Omane Boamah announced that, in response, the NDC has instructed its agents, regional, and constituency executives to ignore the biased directive from the Deputy Chairman of Operations at the Electoral Commission, and instead, continue to fulfill their duties in ensuring transparency and accountability in the electoral process.
“As agreed at the IPAC meeting (held last week on Wednesday 29th May, 2024 in the presence of Mrs. Jean Adukwei Mensah, the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Ghana), NDC agents must appear at the EC offices tomorrow to safeguard the sanctity of the upcoming elections and the peace of our dear country”.
Dr. Edward Omane Boamah
Dr. Omane Boamah emphatically declared that the NDC will vigorously resist any attempts by the NPP and the EC to manipulate electoral boundaries or engage in gerrymandering, and will not hesitate to take all necessary steps to protect the integrity of the electoral process and ensure a free and fair election.
Moreover, Dr. Omane Boamah pointed out that there is no provision in Ghana’s electoral laws that explicitly prohibits political party agents from observing the voter transfer process, thereby rendering the EC’s directive unlawful and without legal basis.
Dr. Omane Boamah declared that the NDC will not permit a small group of partisan individuals within the EC to undermine Ghana’s cherished democratic values and institutions, and will take all necessary steps to protect the integrity of the electoral process and ensure the nation’s democratic heritage.
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