The Progressive People’s Party (PPP) has asked its National Secretary, Murtala Mohammed, to issue an unqualified apology to Franklin Cudjoe and IMANI-Africa.
Murtala Mohammed had in an opinion piece taken on the policy think tank which had criticised the Electoral Commission’s (EC) decision to procure a new biometric voter management system and also compile a new voters’ register ahead of the December 7 general elections.
While dissociating itself from the comments made by its National Secretary, the PPP in a statement signed by its Director of Communications, Paa Kow Ackon, lambasted Murtala Mohammed for tagging IMANI Africa’s Franklin Cudjoe as having a “paymaster”.
“We wish to place on record that the personal comments from our National Secretary and the official position of the PPP in respect of the New Voter Register are not analogous in any way. We disagree with our political opponents, but we do not impugn their character without cause. Personal attacks targeted at perceived opponents are not in the DNA of the PPP,” the party noted in the statement.
“As a party, we cannot stand silently while our National Secretary tags IMANI’s Franklyn Cudjoe as having a ‘paymaster’. We, therefore, demand an unqualified apology from our National Secretary to Franklin Cudjoe and IMANI,” the statement added.
The PPP also used the opportunity to further reiterate its stand on the EC’s move to compile a new electoral roll, insisting that “the Electoral Commission must use the current Biometric Register for the 2020 general elections”.
PPP in the statement said its “reasons for not supporting the new register are situated in economics and development and not political. The taxpayer must not be made to suffer unnecessarily when leaders fail to pluck low hanging fruits and the economy takes a backward step every time that happens.”
Click here to read the full statement.
EC’s reasons for new register
Parliament has approved an amount of GH¢444,846,663 for the compilation of a new voters register which the EC believes will be more credible and efficient than the existing one.
According to the Commission, there is the need to replace outmoded biometric machines.
The Director of Elections at the EC, Dr. Serebour Quaicoe justified the plans saying there was a need to tackle verification challenges that occur on Election Day.
“We have made it very clear that the current biometric system is not good enough for future activities. We are having a lot of challenges with it. In addition to that, a lot of people have found it difficult to have their fingerprints picked up by the machine so we intend to introduce the facial recognition [option] in addition so that if your fingerprint fails, your image will be used for verification.”
Dr. Serebour Quaicoe, also clarified that the said amount is not only for the procurement of equipment but to among other things cater to the full cost of undertaking a fresh registration exercise.
Groups’ disagreement
Whereas some political parties backed the decision by the EC, others including the National Democratic Congress have resisted the move, claiming the decision is ill-timed and a waste of taxpayers’ money.
Calling themselves the Inter-Party Resistance Against New Voters’ register, they have embarked on a series of actions to express their disapproval of the new register.
18 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have also rejected the Commission’s proposal to compile the roll.
IMANI Africa is one of the groups that have kicked against the move to implement the register.
In the most recent development, the think tank insists that the country will lose about US$150million if the Commission goes ahead to procure the system as well as compiling a new voters’ register.
Giving a breakdown of the risk factors of the intended move by the EC, Honorary Vice President of IMANI, Bright Simons, said previous purchases of software and biometric verification devices (BVDs) suggests that the budgetary allocation for the current system is questionable.
But the PPP National Secretary, taking on IMANI in his article stated that: “I’ve been following IMANI on the matter regarding new voters register and they are not sincere to the facts at all. What at all is their interest? Is their interest for their paymasters or for mother Ghana? I asked this because of how they continue to jumble matters covertly and overtly rendering institutions of state useless.”