Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the President has told flagbearer of the Opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr. John Dramani Mahama that his inconsistency in the compilation of new voters Register is a matter for him and his conscience.
According to Nana Akufo-Addo, the exclusive constitutional responsibility of the Electoral Commission for compiling an electoral register has not changed.
Speaking at the 20th-anniversary celebration of the founding of the Tertiary Students Confederation (TESCON) in Ho, the president said the EC has done so on three occasions since the inauguration of the 4th Republic and None of the registers compiled by the Electoral Commission – 1995, 2004, 2012.
According to President Akufo-Addo, at the time, the President of the Republic, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, met the agitation of over the register with the following words:
“Some parties have made it a penchant to continuously attack the Electoral Commission for reasons I cannot understand. This is the time we need to give the Electoral Commission peace to do its work. Every little thing, they are at the Electoral Commission attacking the Commission… our electoral process has inherent safeguards in it that any serious political party can ensure that it polices that election, and makes sure of the integrity of the election. I believe that our Electoral Commission continues to be one of the most experienced and the best not only in Africa but in the world, and has delivered very successful elections in the past, and, if we give it the encouragement and support that they deserve, they should be able to deliver us a successful election.”
Fast-forward to 5-years later, former President Mahama, in the words of President Akufo-Addo, “has made a complete volte-face”, when he told fisher folk recently that “if the Electoral Commission will not listen to us, and proceed to compile a new biometric register, then they will be held responsible for whatever happens. If strife and conflict occur, the EC should own up and accept responsibility for it.”
But Nana Akufo-Addo says there will be no conflict after the December 7 general elections.
Source: mybrytfmonline/Kofi Atakora
