The General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and a leading member of the Inter-party Resistance Against the New Voter’s Register, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has charged all well-meaning Ghanaians and those likely to be disenfranchised by the Electoral Commission’s (EC) voter registration requirements to speak out now.
He said the EC’s insistence on rejecting the birth certificate and voters’ ID in registering Ghanaians is going to disenfranchise many Ghanaians with about one million residents of the Western Region to be affected.
The NDC General Secretary while addressing Zongo Chiefs, Imams and opinion leaders of the Islamic Community in the Western Region, said it is not within the mandate of the EC to redefine which Ghanaian qualifies to vote or not.
“The Constitution is clear that whoever was born before independence cannot be denied a Ghanaian status. What the Supreme Court and the Constitution have said earlier cannot be taken away by the Electoral Commission. It’s impossible for only 11 out of 30 million Ghanaians to be classified as true Ghanaians to vote. 1.6 million Western Region residents have attained 18 years. With the EC’s new requirement, only 600,000 who have received their NIA cards can register to vote.”
“It’s time for those likely to be affected by the EC’s voter registration requirements restrictions to speak out. After all, it is not within the mandate of EC to redefine who a Ghanaian is. Rather it must go with what the Constitution has said and not be selective in what the Constitution has defined as a qualification to be a Ghanaian. The EC in an earlier document given to parties stated clearly that registered voters and the old register would be added, but not this total rejection,” he added.
Asiedu Nketia intimated that there is nothing wrong with people citing potential doom if the Electoral Commission is determined to act outside the Constitution with respect to who is a Ghanaian.
He said the NDC is not ready to condone such acts from the EC, which could cause confusion in the country.
“The EC’s activities are just in breach of Article 17 of the Constitution. It is not true that the EC cannot be advised to work within the laws of the country and that must not be construed as being dictated to. All our positions are based on the laws of the country. If the EC is ready to die from creating confusion, the NDC and its sympathizers are not ready to die with them. There is nothing wrong with people citing potential doom if the right thing or due process is not being followed.”
Bernard Mornah, a leading figure of the Inter-party Resistance Against the New Voter’s Register, who was part of the interaction with various identifiable groups in the Western Region, told Citi News the group has been to 10 regions and will continue to deepen the sensitization against the Electoral Commission’s determination to deny many Ghanaians the right to vote.
“It is to demonstrate to the citizens that the Electoral Commission has put in place measures that undermine our citizenship. What all of us must understand is that their effort is to denationalize citizens’ passport and the Ghana Card cannot be the determinant of who a Ghanaian is. We were Ghanaians before the arrival of the passport and the Ghana cards. Voting right is a fundamental human right and that cannot be compromised at any stage.”
“This is the tenth region we are visiting and so far the response has been highly impressive. People did not know the magnitude of the deception that has been characterized in this whole process and now they are getting it. We are certain that we will carry the message to the people. They can decide to win by scoring goals, but we will win by scoring the points.”
Members of the Inter-party Resistance Against the New Voter’s Register also met with the Christian leadership in the Western Region.