Politics of Wednesday, 30 December 2015

Source: GNA

2016 elections: NDP advocates electronic-voting

Nana Konadu Agyemang-Rawlings, Founder of NDP Nana Konadu Agyemang-Rawlings, Founder of NDP

The National Democratic Party (NDP) has strongly advocated the need for the Electoral Commission (EC) to adopt electronic-voting in the 2016 parliamentary and presidential elections to maintain peace and tranquillity after the polls.

It has therefore suggested to the government to ask for support from the Indian Government to lend its electronic-voting gadgets to the EC to conduct next year’s elections since India had used e-voting successfully in its national elections over the years.

This, according to the Party, would avert over-voting, multiple voting, and electoral fraud as well as enhance the transparency of the country’s electoral system.

The Party also supported the call for a new voters’ register and biometric verification voting in next year’s polls.

Mr. Charles Opoku, Deputy Youth Leader of the Party, made this known at the inauguration of a 13-member executive of the Party in Sekondi, in the Western Region on Sunday.

The regional executives would steer the affairs of the Party for the next four years.

They comprised Bernard Quaidoo, Chairman, Alex Boateng, First Vice-Chairman, Albert Boampong, Second Vice-Chairman and Augustine Ghansah, Secretary.

Others are Richard Bonnah, Deputy Secretary, Nii Kwei Wilson, Communication Director, Gyetuah Ampem-Tikwah, Deputy Communication Director, Christie Williams, Women’s Leader, Francisca Pokuah, First Women’s Leader and Wilhelmina Eshun, Second Women’s leader.

The rest are Kenneth Kwarteng, Treasurer, Joel Prince Nyamekye, Deputy Treasurer and Michael Aidoo, Youth leader.

Alhaji Mohammed Frimpong, acting General Secretary of the Party, administered the Oath of Allegiance and tasked the regional executive members to work in unity and assiduously to mobilize more grassroots support for the Party in order to garner victory in next year’s general election.

He said the ruling National Democratic Congress cannot deliver Ghanaians from abject poverty since it had condoned corruption, therefore, the electorate had lost trust in the government.

Alhaji Frimpong said the ruling government had failed to properly administer various social intervention programmes such as Ghana Youth Employment and Development Agency (GYEDA), Savanna Accelerated Development Authority (SADA), National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), and continued to engage in other fraudulent deals including the re-branding of state buses and Asia Middle East Energy contract.

He therefore asked Ghanaians to have faith in the NDP to rescue the country from economic quagmire, adding that Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, the Leader and Founder of the Party had proven track record of helping the downtrodden in the society.

He indicated that if Ghanaians give the NDP the mandate to rule the country, it would harness the state resources for the benefit of the ordinary citizens and ensure probity and accountability.

The regional congress of the NDP was supervised by the Electoral Commission.