NDC flawed elections has Reaffirmed our call for a new voter's register

Pressure group Movement for Joint Action (MJA) is urging Ghanaians to intensify pressure on the Electoral Commission to change the current voter’s register ahead of the 2016 general elections.

The group’s call follows the pockets of violence that characterized the just ended Presidential and Parliamentary primaries of the ruling NDC due to allegations of the party’s supporters that the register is bloated.

BELOW IS A FULL STATEMENT FROM THE GROUP

The group in our petition to the electoral commission and on all media networks has emphatically contested the decision of the electoral commission to conduct the 2016 elections using the. Current bloated biometric voter register.

Again, considering the outcomes of the NDC just ended elections, the group can unreservedly attest to the fact that not only does it serves as an indictment on the integrity and reputation of the two-day national forum organized by the Electoral Commission, but also to a large extent reaffirms our position for the need of new voter register for the 2016 elections.

Furthermore, our passionately appeal to the electoral commission to respect article 46 of the 1992 constitution of the Republican of Ghana by offering Level playing field for all parties and major election stakeholders in order to consolidate peaceful elections in 2016 has been emphasized considering the NDC elections outcomes.

Unfortunately, the NDC-Mahama led government has sought to mischievously pursuing the agenda of denigrating our persistent calls for new voter register for the 2016 elections and upholding the independence of the electoral commission before, during and after the elections.

It is against this backdrop that the NDC elections committee in an attempt to prove to the people of Ghana that cleaning the bloated voter register is the best mechanism for preserving the credibility of the register, decided to undertake such a flawed biometric voter registration and publication exercises and which ended up producing bloated biometric voter register.

Ironically, after subjecting the provisional purported biometric voter register to standard auditing and subsequent exhibitions, the NDC final biometric voter register used for the conduct of their elections could only be described as exceedingly bloated with unimaginable level of infiltrations and lacking the requisite reputation.

Moreover, the extent of infiltrations, flaws and errors relating to incorrect data entries as a result of illegitimate names deletions, transfers, additions, corrections, suppression and reinstatement, was enough to influence the decision by the party to postpone the elections from 7th November to 21st.

Undoubtedly, the magnitude of such register errors was the result of the nationwide flawed voting processes characterized by high levels of elections malpractices, violations and irregularities, suspension of elections at several centers, destruction of elections materials, physical assaults on aspirants and supports, burning of tyres and forcible ransacking and locking of electoral commission offices, demonstrations and court injunctions.

Several thousands of eligible voters were disenfranchised, as their names were either deliberately deleted to favor a particular aspirant or perhaps an indication that the exhibition mechanisms employed couldn't match the extent of infiltration as pertains to the current biometric voter register.

Another significant development worth noting about the elections outcomes was the level of intimate collaboration between the electoral commission and the NDC elections committee, and which commitment in a party's internal elections raises questions about the neutrality and fairness of the EC boss in the conduct of the 2016 elections.

Similarly, the conduct of the security agencies that broke into security command disputes especially between the police service and the military as a result of manipulations of security arrangements by some bigwigs in government also raises serious questions about the impartiality of national security and the elections security forces ahead of the 2016 elections.

From the above assertion, it is evidently imperative that every well meaning Ghanaian see the NDC elections as an opportunity to press on the demand for a new voter register in order to prevent the electoral commission boss and president John Mahama from putting the faith of the country and the over 27 million Ghanaians in the hands of a party whose elections couldn't guaranteed the safety and security of only one million voters; a party whose election has recorded in the history of political parties elections, the highest level of irregularities leading to thousands of eligible voters disenfranchised and which irregularities were supervised by the electoral commission boss, raising the question about the readiness of the commission ahead of the 2016 elections.

Admittedly, flaws in electoral processes cast smear on the integrity, credibility and legitimacy of the outcome of elections as a result of bloated voter register and which we believe has the propensity to generate into political unrest and post-election disputes and uncontrollable violence.

It is therefore the hope of the group that the electoral commission boss, Mrs. Charlotte Osei, religiously work to uphold the neutrality and independence of the commission for peaceful and democratic elections consolidation.

Again, we expect that the security service develop a well coordinated election security strategy that incorporates all branches of the security services, all areas of the country, and all points of the electoral process.

The security authorities must remain neutral throughout the electoral process and avoid intimidating voters, however, identifying all potential Flashpoints and responding promptly to reports of problems to maintain Law and order before, during and after the 2016 elections.

New voter register, a guarantee to peaceful and credible democratic elections consolidation in 2016.

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