President Akufo-Addo has said the Electoral Commission of Ghana has constitutional remit to compile an electoral register and improved register as well.
He has however lauded opposition parties for embarking on peaceful demonstrations in Tamale against the decision of the Electoral Commission to compile a new register.
The president, Nana Akufo-Addo said this in an address at the 71st New Year School and Conference in Accra.
Recalling the September 2015 Let My Vote Count Alliance protest which turned violent, President Akufo-Addo said there are now peaceful demonstrations in the country.
“Before I conclude, let me state a Ghanaian irony. Five (5) years ago, we had demonstrations in Accra calling for a new, credible register, in which some citizens were maimed and brutalized,” President Akufo-Addo said. “Indeed, a citizen, young Justice Adzakuma, lost his eye and died last year. May God bless his soul. Fortunately, in this new era, there are no casualties. God bless Ghana”.
The Inter-Party Resistance against New Voters’ Register, a group made up of some political parties, at the weekend embarked on a demonstration against the Electoral Commission’s decision to compile a new biometric voter’s register for the 2020 General Election.
The political parties included the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the Convention Peoples’ Party (CPP), the United Progressive Party (UPP), the United Front Party (UFP), the All Peoples’ Congress (APC), and the Peoples’ National Convention (PNC).
They matched from the Tamale Jubilee Park to the Afa Ajura Mosque at Sakasaka, through to the Choggu Roundabout to the Aboabo Street, to the Central Mosque and finally reconvened at the Jubilee Park.
Clad in red and black T-shirts, they held various placards some of which read; “#DroptheREGISTERNow”, “CPP say no to new voter register”, “Jean Mensa No need for new voters register,” and “Nana Bring Back GN and not Voter Register.”
Mr. Johnson Asiedu Nkietiah, the General Secretary of the NDC, said the current register was authentic hence the demonstration to advocate for its use in the 2020 elections to save the public purse from depleting.
Source: Kofi Atakora
