General News of Monday, 27 January 2020
Source: Alhaji Iddi Muhayu-Deen,contributor
2020-01-27
Jean Mensa, Chairperson of the EC
The pressure group calling itself, Interparty Resistance Against New Voters Register led by the opposition NDC have been advised to put a stop to the needless demonstrations they are staging against the EC’s decision to compile a new voters register ahead of this year’s general election.
The latest advice is coming from the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO), the immediate past Executive Director of the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) and the Office of the National Chief Imam.
Speaking on TV 3’s weekend news analysis programme, ‘The Key Points’, on Saturday, January 25, 2020, the Co-Chairperson of CODEO, Sheikh Aremeyawo Shaibu, who doubles as the Official Spokesperson of the National Chief Imam took on the NDC for what he described as needless demonstrations and advised them to rather invest their resources and efforts in getting their members to go and register when the EC opens the window.
He observed that, “so far, the arguments being advanced by the parties who are against the EC’s decision to compile a new voters register have been UNCONVINCING… Instead of spending their limited resources and energies embarking on these needless demonstrations, I will advise them to rather invest their energies and efforts in mobilising their members to go and register”.
On his part, the immediate past Executive Director of the Ghana Integrity Initiative and renowned anti-corruption crusader, Vitus Azeem, who was also a panelist on the programme, couldn’t help than to agree entirely with the revered Islamic Cleric and Co-Chair of the Domestic Election Observers. To him, so long as the EC is acting within its constitutional authority and have also had the buy-in of some major stakeholders, it is an exercise in futility for the NDC and its Pressure Group to seek to stop the Commission through such needless demonstrations”. He also advised them to focus on getting their supporters to go out and register.
The EC has scheduled April 18, 2020, to the end of May 2020, to begin a nationwide exercise of compiling a new voters registration for the 2020 elections citing the issue of cost and technical challenges with the current system. The largest opposition party, the NDC, is however kicking against the the EC’s decision to compile a new register for some grotesque reasons. Accordingly, the NDC, under the pseudo name, Interparty Resistance Against New Voters Register is staging demonstrations against the election management body for seeking to exercise its constitutional mandate.
The NDC’s position on the matter which was supported by some 18 out of the over 100 CSOs in the country continues to receive a debilitating blow by the superior arguments being canvassed by the proponents of a new register including the EC, IT experts, the governing NPP and 13 other political parties in the country. Also worthy of note is that some leading members of the NDC including Alottey Jacob have advised the party to stop the needless demonstrations and refocus on how to mobilize its members to go out and register.
Meanwhile, the NPP General Secretary, John Boadu, has advised Ghanaians especially members of his party, not to be deceived by the outward appearance of the NDC’s position, stating that, the NDC, while demonstrating against the EC, are also subtly motivating their supporters to go out there and register when the time is due.