The Managing Director of the Ghana Publishing Company David Asante has called on the Electoral Commission to ‘sit up’ and address concerns over the voter’s register.
According to him, the commission must work to win the confidence of Ghanaians as the 2020 election approaches.
It comes after the opposition NDC raised concerns over deleted names in the voter’s register. The party says the ongoing voter’s register exhibition exercise must be extended in order for the anomalies in the register to be resolved.
Speaking on the Hotseat on Starr FM Friday, Mr Asante who also doubles as the convenor of pressure group Let My Vote Count Alliance, the EC must resolve all the concerns that have been expressed by political parties over the register before the polls.
“As I sit here, I agree with calls that the EC must sit up, they must work to win the confidence of the general population so that the results of the polls will be acceptable to all,” he told host Kwame Danso-Acheampong.
He, however, criticised former President John Mahama’s call that the NDC will not accept the results of a flawed election.
“John Mahama’s call that foreign observers should arrive early in this country is unnecessary. We have been running elections here without them. In this country, who determines what a flawed election is? The reasoning that their members have been deleted from the register is weak”.
NDC on Volter’s register
The opposition NDC has urged the Electoral Commission to ensure a credible and transparent election adding that it will not accept results of a flawed election.
The latest caution by the NDC comes after the party alleged that the EC was deliberately taking out names of its members from the newly compiled voters’ register after omissions were identified in some polling stations across the country during the ongoing exhibition exercise.
The EC has denied the allegation and subsequently extended the duration of the exercise by two-more days, to end September 27.
But flagbearer of the party John Dramani Mahama has warned the election management body that its credibility was at stake and must put in place measures to ensure the upcoming poll is fair to all stakeholders.
Even though Mr Mahama acknowledged that the NDC has exhibited restraint since the electoral process started, he stated that the party will not allow the EC usurp the people’s mandate.
Addressing the nation on Thursday September 24, Mr Mahama noted “we in the NDC have exhibited restraint at all times in this electoral process, even now we are committed to doing so. But we will not accept the result of a flawed election.”
He went on “we will certainly not look on, neither will we shirk our civic responsibility and allow the EC, whether it intends to or sheer incompetence to usurp the peoples mandate in the December 7 polls.”
“We want to see fairness, transparency, and integrity in the process leading up to the elections. The EC will take responsibility and act in good faith to resolve them,” he added.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM
