TOPICAL ISSUES WITH AKILU SAYIBU

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) had submitted substantial evidence to the effect that the Voters register of Ghana which was compiled by the Electoral Commission of Ghana for election 2012 had on it over nearly 77,000 Togolese who were also on the voter’s register of Togo.

It has now emerged that for the past 16 years no Togolese national has registered as a dual citizen of Ghana. The mystery therefore continuous towards unearthing this anomaly.

It must be stated that the NPP’s action is to contribute towards a reliable, credible and transparent voters register for election 2016. Whilst civil society groups including International Agencies have lauded the NPP for bringing the attention of the Electoral Commission of Ghana to this oddity, the NDC as a ruling party is behaving strangely and profoundly shockingly against a new voter register for next year’s election!
Even though the NPP submitted all the evidences to the EC, it is the NDC that has already organised a sham press conference to rebut the case of the NPP for a new register but surprisingly did not submit a single counter evidence to demolish the case of the NPP.

The overall argument of the NDC is that the voters register is indeed over bloated but their claim is that the NPP has been very selective in the compilation of the evidence to prove the case of a bloated register and the urgent need for a fresh register for the election of next year.

Both Asiedu Nketiah and Fiifi Kwettey of the NDC say there are constituencies in the Ashanti region that have bloated voter’s figures too and should have been captured by the NPP in the evidence submitted to the Electoral Commission of Ghana! From the argument of the NDC, it is very clear that they also agree there is a problem with the register except that they want to play an ethnocentric card rather than call for a new reliable voter register for Ghana.

The Electoral Commission has called on the other political parties to submit their proposals on the need for a new voter register or otherwise to it. The NDC as of the time of typing this article are yet to submit a single official proposal!
It is extremely curious why the NDC has suddenly become Spokespersons for the Electoral Commission whilst it has a communications directorate responsible for handling its internal and external communications and publics.

The fact that the NDC is “allergic” to a new voter register should be the reason why lovers of free and fair elections should insist on this. Why are they afraid of a new credible register of voters for Ghana? The cost of a new register for Ghana is less as compared to the cost of chaos and anarchy that suspected sham elections can bring to a country. Confidence in the Electoral Commission in terms of its work is good for the country. A new voter’s register has no benefit to any political party but Ghana. It is the campaign messages of political parties and their performances inside and outside government that will win them elections. A clean voter register will make any victory or defeat acceptable.

The NDC must be scolded for dangerously playing the ethnic card aimed at polarising the country rather than making credible alternative to the bloated register. The claim of the NDC that the NPP does not like the people of Volta Region is a big untruth and must not be patronised. Recently some youth and chiefs of the Volta region came out in the media and complained bitterly about how the NDC has rejected them in terms of development of the area. This is what the NDC should be worried about. Their ranting and kicking against a new national voters register for Ghana will be defeated.
They should respectfully move away from the insults trip to the presentation of solid evidence against the compilation of a new register. Those talking of cleaning the register rather than compiling a new register for the country must be told that compiling a new register is another form of cleaning it.
Anybody who thinks compiling a new voter register is expensive should try civil wars which are usually triggered by outcomes of shambolic elections.
AKILU SAYIBU,
Email: Akisayi@yahoo.com