The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) is accusing the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Ablekuma West Constituency in the Greater Accra Region, Mrs. Ursula Gifty Owusu-Ekuful of busing non-residents into the Constituency for the ongoing Electoral Commission (EC) registration exercise.

According to a statement issued by the Ablekuma West NDC copied to The Herald dated Monday July 6, 2020, the MP who doubles as Communications Minister, has since the beginning of the exercise, been using EC officers and other shrewd means, including secret meetings, to propagate this agenda.

She is said to be micro-managing the national exercise, using her influence and privileged position to manage the exercise.

The statement signed by Constituency chairman of the NDC, Bright Mawuli Ahoto, Constituency Communications Officers; Nii Jeffery and Winson Addotey, said people are bused from as far as Akropong-Akwapim, Nsawam, Kade, Kasoa, Tema Metropolis into the Constituency.

 The MP, has successfully managed to ensure that more registration machines are dispatched to her stronghold than that of the NDC's just to ensure that, more people in these areas, are able to register to her advantage.

 "Since the start of this registration, the MP has been having secret meetings with the EC officials in the Constituency, trying to micro-manage the registration process especially, with regards to the allocation of registration equipment to the registration centres.

 As of the time of this press release, there are more machines allocated to her so-called strongholds than the other populous registration centres", statement read in parts.

Below is the unedited release by the Ablekuma West NDC

ONGOING REGISTRATION: URSULA OWUSU BUSSING NON-RESIDENTS INTO ABLEKUMA WEST FOR REGISTRATION.

The Member of Parliament for Ablekuma West Constituency, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, in her desperation to get elected for the third time has reached the crescendo in her activities as she is currently conniving with the Municipal Chief Executive to bus in non-residents and distribute them to register at the various registration centres.

Since the start of the registration, the MP has been having secret meetings with EC officials in the Constituency, trying to micro-manage the registration process especially, with regards to the allocation of registration equipment to the registration centres. As of the time of this press release, there are more machines allocated to her so-called strongholds than the other populous registration centres.

As her seat is seriously being threatened by the vibrant and all-loving, articulate and workerholic NDC Parliamentary candidate, Rev. Kweku Addo, Ursula is cunningly using the so-called strongholds to register non-residents, mostly from other constituencies with the hope to increase her chances of retaining her seat in the upcoming Parliamentary election.

In fact, last Wednesday and Thursday, the day 2 and 3 of the exercise, luck eluded her as the eagle eyes of the Ablekuma West NDC monitoring team uncovered one of such dubious moves of hers to rig the 2020 elections.

Our monitoring team arrested a bus load of non-residents at the time Covid-19 is ravaging lives, upon a tip off near the SSNIT Flats in Dansoman. The smuggled people, who were apparently not observing any form of the WHO COVID-19 Safety Protocols, were sent to the Dansoman Police Station after they confessed that they were not residents of the Constituency.

According to them, they were bussed from Tema Metropolis, Kade, Kasoa, Akropong-Akwapim and Nsawam and billed to register at Dr. Opoku Ware Clinic Polling Centre, Jesus Care Polling Centre, Spring House Registration Centre and Christian Home, which she perceives to be her strongholds.

This has been the dirty tricks and strategies the MP used in previous elections to win the seat. We have always maintained that, given the opportunity to the residents of Ablekuma West alone, Ursula can never be their MP. No wonder, she does not respect the people of Ablekuma West. Without them she can always bus in people to decide for the Ablekuma West people. This has always been the insult she rains on the people of Ablekuma West.

Realising that the NDC is all eye-red and extra vigilant in this ongoing registration exercise by blocking her dirty and wicked strategies, the MP has adopted yet another dirty strategy. Just last night, after she was spotted having a secret meeting with some EC officials in the Constituency, we were called to a late night meeting that the original schedules for the registration phases has been changed. While we were still in the meeting with the Municipal Elections Officer in his office to be told why the original schedule has been changed, the MP's people were already queuing at the various new registration centres at about 8pm to the surprise of residents and other political parties. How did they know that those registration centres were going to be the next to be registered?

Ursula Owusu has been conniving with the Electoral officials. As we speak, the Registration Supervisor of the Electoral Commission has been caught flirting with the MCE, who is working hard to favour the MP, who also incidentally brought him to be the Municipal Chief Executive.

Mr. Theophilus Oyortey, the Elections Supervisor of the Municipality and a well-known Ursula boy, has been intimidating and issuing various threats to our polling agents who would not allow him space to implement the dirty tricks of the MP. Why, are the EC officials in the Constituency an extension of the NPP and Ursula Owusu?

We want to serve notice to Ursula Owusu, the MP for Ablekuma West, who currently sleeps in a different constituency, goes to Parliament, transacts business on our behalf and reports to us through radio and television that the NDC and the residents of Ablekuma West will meet her in the street and any of her hide-outs to ensure that the verdict of the Ablekuma West people is not stolen again.

The Electoral Commission must immediately call its officials in the Ablekuma West Municipality to order. Officials who have already compromised their neutrality should be removed immediately. While we appreciate the professionalism of the Dansoman police, we also calling on the District Commander to ensure that all parties are treated equally and fairly without fear or favour!

Signed

Bright Mawuli Ahoto, Const. Chairman â?? 0244933069Nii Jeffery Mensah, Const. Communication Officer - 0546136690Winson Addotey, Communication Director - 0244022784Â