Deputy general secretary for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mustapha Gbande, has accused the Electoral Commission (EC) of being used as a “rubber stamp” to undermine participation of Ghanaians in the limited voter registration exercise underway.
According to him, the EC is acting in cahoots with government in an agenda to suppress data and disenfranchise Ghanaians. He revealed that the NPP is a “bigger stakeholder” in the scheme.
“… Government establishment is leading the charge. Electoral Commission is being used as a rubber stamp to undermine the people of this country and that must be well-noted so that going forward, the NPP has no cause to come and complain and would not have that opportunity to blame the people of Ghana for protesting against this government and their party…”
Mustapha Gbande
Mr Gbande with regards to the injunction filed by some political parties on the exercise, noted that the court has engaged in denial of justice to the people of Ghana.
He explained that the NDC has emphasized that the exercise, if allowed to go on in such a manner, is going to be “very expensive, discouraging and very cumbersome” given the centralization of registration centers.
Furthermore, he highlighted that considering the demographics of most Ghanaians, especially with respect to some constituencies voters reside, proximity will be a restraint in getting to these centers.
“Also, given the fact that the Electoral Commission has not been able to undertake any registration since 2019, the numbers and the queues will be so long, that if these people are not able to register, the question then is who is going to feed and accommodate them? So, those are the issues we have raised.”
Mustapha Gbande
Moreover, Mr Gbande argued that in the context of law, the requirement of the Electoral Commission is to make registration centers accessible to registrants. However, he decried that such provisions have not been properly handled given the proximity and the distance involved.
“One would have required that because all political parties have come together to take up the matter, the court will take it in good faith and do justice to the people of Ghana. In any way, the case should be heard reasonably to the issues.”
Mustapha Gbande
Furthermore, Mr Gbande expressed reservation on the position of the Chief Justice, which he insisted has now “worsened the matters of travesty of justice”. He explained that by the actions of the Chief Justice, she has simply “tied” the hands of Ghanaians behind them, demanding they go and queue to register.
Ghanaians urged to engage in limited voter registration
In a bid to offset the ruling government in the 2024 elections, Mr Gbande urged well-meaning Ghanaians to go through the “hustle, suffering and forbearance” for the sake of democracy and positive change.
He equally advised Ghanaians to register as a sign of protesting the hardship they’re going through. To this end, he emphasized that the NDC will be present at these registration centers.
On his part, Deputy general secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Haruna Mohammed, revealed that the NPP is not against any decision by the other political parties to file an injunction in court to restrain the Electoral Commission proceeding to conduct of the limited voter registration exercise.
On the other hand, he reckoned the move is grounded in law. However, he noted that the NPP disagree with the “position of going to court, not the position that they ascribe in that injunction”.
“An application for injunction, is it also the same as what the court has heard and approved of? So, if there’s application and the application hasn’t been heard, I don’t know whether that application can be implemented… We need to be able to distinct between the application and a granted application by a competent court of jurisdiction.”
Haruna Mohammed
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