National communications officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi, has condemned actions he described as “gerrymandering and voter suppression” by the ruling NPP and the Electoral Commission in the ongoing limited voter registration exercise.
According to him, the decision by the EC to limit registration to district offices only, coupled with attendant incidents of faulty and malfunctioning machines leading to the delay and frustration of prospective voters to register is a “deliberate” act by the Commission.
He insisted that this is an agenda “hatched” by the EC in collaboration with the NPP to “suppress voters and to manipulate” the processes leading to the 2024 elections in favor of the incumbent NPP.
“What they are doing simply doesn’t make sense, violates their own laws and the supreme laws of this country. What they are doing has no reasonable or sensible justification…
“The only reason they are doing it is to further their agenda of rigging the processes leading to the 2024 election in favor of the NPP through voter suppression and gerrymandering, but they will fail. In fact, they are already failing, and they will even fail more because we are ready for them…”
Sammy Gyamfi
Moreover, Sammy Gyamfi expressed that there’s no “reasonable basis or justification” for the EC to limit registration centers in this year’s limited voter registration to 268 district offices.
He explained that the EC’s position of restricting the process to EC offices in a bid to prevent foreigners from registering is not tenable since the process will still be manned by EC officers.
“I’ve heard the Deputy chairperson; Bossman Asare say on some media networks that they are doing this to check the presence of foreigners on the register and prevent foreigners for abusing the guarantor system. So, you ask yourself what is going through the brains of these people. They are trying to contrive non-existent excuses and justifications for what they are doing…”
Sammy Gyamfi
NDC resolute in ensuring fair electoral process
Furthermore, Sammy Gyamfi highlighted that although the right to vote is not compulsory, the EC has a duty to expand access to voter registration.
In light of this, he questioned that if the EC in 2019 was “sensible” enough to conduct a limited registration at 1,500 centers in 2019, what could have changed in this instance.
“The Commission which is enjoined to expand access to voter registration by the constitution all of a sudden say we are not doing at 1,500 centers but we are reducing the number to 268, when the target of persons they are seeking to register is even higher…”
Sammy Gyamfi
Meanwhile, the NDC’s communications officer criticized the EC for delaying its constitutionally mandate obligation in conducting the annual limited registration exercise.
He stated that in 2021 and 2022, the “lawless” EC, without any reasonable excuse, failed to revise the register, leading to the surge in numbers.
“So, that has created a huge backlog of close to 3 million people who have turned 18 and above and have not been registered… You listen to our friends in the NPP speak, they say that the EC has a discretion, they decide where to register people…”
Sammy Gyamfi
In spite of the purported claim of the EC acting in cahoots with the NPP to deter voters from registering, Mr Gyamfi assured that the NDC is committed to “marching them booth for booth” in all the 268 centers. He noted that the party remains vigilant and is monitoring the process keenly to ensure the right things are done.
“… We have officers and agents in all these district offices. So, the evil plot they have hatched will fail.”
Sammy Gyamfi
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