The Electoral Commission (EC) has dared the largest opposition party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to provide it with a copy of the Togo register if indeed the party has it.
According to the EC, should the party make the document available, it will move swiftly into action to investigate the NPP’s claim that nearly 80,000 Togolese are registered on Ghana’s register, a situation the party contends questions the credibility of the electoral roll.
The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has made stunning revelations about some of the flaws contained in the country’s current voters’ register, rendering the document virtually useless.
At a press conference in Accra, Vice Presidential Candidate of the party, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, took time to point at the extent to which the register is bloated, stressing the need for a new voters’ register.
The NPP which claims has a copy of the Togo register is therefore calling on the Electoral Commission (EC), as a matter of urgency, to compile a fresh register well ahead of the 2016 polls.
At the public forum on the voters register on Friday, the General Secretary of the NPP, Mr Kwabena Agyepong urged the EC to secure the Togo register and investigate its claims.
“The immediate past chairman of the EC was the head of all the Electoral Commissioners in Accra, so it shouldn’t be difficult for the EC to get the Togo register”.
However the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Mrs Charlotte Osei challenged the NPP to make available the Togo register insisting that once they are alleging, it is incumbent on the party to produce the document.
“We are not requesting because we don’t have it or we may not be able to secure it. He who alleges must prove, if you claim to have done some analysis on that register, it’s just fair that you make it available to us. That will also be in the spirit of transparency, time is of the essence in this regard.”
The two-day event which ended Friday evening saw the various political parties and other civil society organizations make presentations on their position for or against the compilation of a new voters register for the 2016 elections.
The EC is expected to later put out recommendations on the register which will inform a final decision on the register.
By: Kasapafmonline.com/Ghana
