The Minority Caucus in Parliament says they are of the firm belief that there is a clear attempt by the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo-led government to purge the system and pave their way for their strategy to rig the 2020 general elections.
This attempt, they NDC group noted, is manifest in the sudden issuance of letters from the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development dated June 19, 2018, directing Mr. Richard Womega, Head of the Volta Region Births and Deaths Registry and Ms. Peace Agbenyo, Deputy Regional Head to cease with immediate effect the registration of all Ghanaians in the Volta Region and report themselves to the Ministry that same day (June 19, 2018).
“We have long believed that the reckless intransigence on the part of the Government and the belligerent open defence of same by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is targeted primarily at the Volta Region. Sadly, our fears have now been confirmed”, the NDC MP for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa who read out the statement said at a press conference, Tuesday, July 10, 2018.
Commenting further, the Minority said their worst fear is the consistent trend of pattern of communications from key NPP and government functionaries targeting the Volta Region as a place they want to disrupt and reduce their voter population.
They also argued that the Akufo-Addo-led government seeing that they have performed abysmally in power has hatched a grand scheme to prevent as many people as possible in the Volta Region where they lack support from obtaining base documents needed to register for the Ghana Card even as they continue to resist sound advice to include the Voter ID.
” t is important to bear in mind that the NPP Government intends to use the Ghana Card registration data as the foundation data to be used as an entirely new voters register,” noted Mr. Ablakwa.
He added “As can be observed, recent developments at the Electoral Commission with the removal of the Electoral Commissioner and her two deputies sets the perfect stage for the NPP as part of their grand scheme to pursue their agenda of rigging the 2020 elections”.
They however cautioned that they will not sit down and allow ” this to continue on this reckless path to bastardize the democracy we have all toiled to build”, reminding the government that they not permit the flagrant violation of Article 45 (a) of the constitution of Ghana which mandates only the Electoral Commission to compile the register of voters and revise it as such periods as may be determined by law.
They said they will fiercely resist with every force they could Marshall any attempt to hide under the National Identification Authority’s discredited Ghana Card to usurp the Electoral Commission’s constitutional mandate in compiling a register of voters.
They therefore called for immediate reinstatement of Mr. Womega and Ms. Agbenyo.
They also called on the Chiefs and Community leaders to take the opportunity of the President’s visit to the Volta Region a d caution him in very clear terms to desist from the rather perilous, divisive and nation-wrecking mission his Government has so far embarked upon.
