The national coordinator of the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO), Albert Kofi Arhin, has indicated that the limited voter registration exercise could suffer dire consequences if the Electoral Commission (EC) does not take necessary steps to address challenges encountered on the first day, especially regarding wrong dating of ID cards.
In what could be a significant setback to the EC’s resolve to supervise a free and fair election in November, first-time voters were handed ID cards showing a registration date of 27 April 2016 instead of 28 April 2016.
Director of elections for the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Adjei Mensah Korsah, speaking to Class News, urged the party agents to be extra vigilant.
“So far, I think the process took off to a slow start in the morning. On the NPP side, I have been monitoring with some worrying signals. I am beginning to suspect a grand scheme in place to disenfranchise people from the Ashanti and the Eastern region and the basis of my statement is that in the morning in Nsutem D/A Primary School in the Fanteakwa district, the equipment were brought there and the vigilance of our agents helped us to check that the date on the machine was that of yesterday (27 April)”, he stated.
“As I speak to you, there are other centres in the Ashanti region, Obuasi, where you have somebody registering and the date is 27 April when the exercise started on the 28 April. These things have been brought to the attention of the EC, but I have never monitored this anywhere apart from these two regions and it is becoming quite rampant and I am putting it out that I suspect a grand scheme to perpetrate fraud in these two regions”.
“… [A] grand scheme [by] the administrators of this process. There is a grand scheme and it will be fiercely resisted. It cannot just have happened out of nothing. All the incidences that have happened seem to be unique, and, so, this is what we have and we will urge our agents to be extra vigilant.
“… The world must know that there is a sinister motive and we are waiting for the EC to give us some response to these emerging developments that are indeed very worrying”.
Mr Adjei Mensah Korsah said the trend was worrying because “anybody [with an ID card], which bears a date [of] 27 [April], you are cut out of the central data base. Any such registration that bears a different date other than the stipulated period is null and void”.
But Mr Arhin says he suspects the mishap could have been as a result of a “technical problem”, but charged the EC to come out and explain to stakeholders why there was such a case.
He told Emefa Apawu on Class FM’s 505 news programme on Thursday April 28 that: “If it is not corrected, it can mar the exercise, but it was good the issue came up early, so, if there is any remedy, it can be rectified before it is too late”.
“The date itself may not affect the credibility of the EC, but, of course, if it is corrected, the ones issued can be called back and corrected”.
Source: Ghana/ClassFMonline.com/91.3fm
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