Having admitted to and corrected your errors, grant PNC the same opportunity to appear on the ballot paper

Having admitted to and corrected your errors, grant PNC the same opportunity to appear on the ballot paper – National Chairman

National Chairman of PNC, Samson Asaki Awingobit

The National Chairman of the People’s National Convention (PNC), Samson Asaki Awingobit, has made a passionate appeal to the Electoral Commission (EC) to reconsider its decision to disqualify the presidential candidate of the party, Bernard Mornah.

He stated that if the EC has admitted to errors in its work, particularly with regards to the voters’ register, it was right to also allow their candidate to make the necessary corrections and be allowed to contest in the presidential election.

The EC disqualified some 11 candidates for various reasons, including failure to correct errors identified on their forms.

Bernard Mornah of the PNC had incomplete particulars of supporters. He also used registered voters in a particular district to support his nomination in other districts.

His form also contained varying signatures of some supporters and, in some cases, the same signatures for different supporters. He was therefore disqualified.

Awingobit, taking his turn at an IPAC meeting on Tuesday, October 1, 2024, said it was good the EC had admitted to errors and made the necessary corrections with regards to the register.

He then appealed to the EC to allow the PNC to make the corrections and be allowed to contest in the presidential election.

"First and foremost, I want to use this opportunity to thank you and your commissioners for allowing us to take part.

"This is my first time in an IPAC meeting to take part in this important thing and to commend you and your team for accepting the call that this IPAC team be televised for all the over 30-something Ghanaians to see the truth of it and to show that you have nothing to hide in your cobwebs… Your keyword is transparency and fairness; is that not it? That is what we are all looking for."

The PNC Chairman applauded the EC’s transparency in acknowledging errors and taking corrective action, yet expressed disappointment that similar oversights resulted in his party’s presidential candidate being disqualified.

He highlighted the Commission’s human composition and the attendant likelihood of mistakes and urged the EC to demonstrate equal understanding and flexibility when evaluating the PNC’s candidacy.