The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has alleged that the Electoral Commission (EC) and the National Identification Authority (NIA) are scheming to rig the 2020 elections.
The party, at a news conference yesterday, outlined reasons it believed those two institutions were bent on nothing other than ensuring a smooth win for the sitting President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
The presser, addressed by no other person than the National Chairman, Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, said: “Having failed to deliver on his (President Akufo-Addo) promises to the people of this country, and seeing defeat staring glaringly at him, he, in conjunction with the Jean Mensah-led EC and the Ken Attafuah-led NIA, are desperately scheming to rig the 2020 general elections and hold on to power at all costs.”
The NDC said rigging an election was not a day’s event, and as such, the EC had already begun processes towards that at all costs.
Mr Ofosu-Ampofo alleged that “rigging” of the procurement processes that led to the selection of Thales as suppliers of Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) for the EC is part of the scheme, ahead of the elections.
He also alleged that the decision to exclude the existing voters’ ID card, and rather include the Ghana card, as a registration requirement for the new voters’ register, “are all part of the grand rigging conspiracy of President Akufo Addo, the Jean Mensah-led EC, and the Ken Attafuah led NIA.”
Again, the party said the exclusion of the voter’s ID card from the requirements for registration for the Ghana Card was part of a well calculated scheme to disenfranchise some Ghanaians from acquiring the card.
But the NDC says it shall employ every legitimate means to stop the alleged conspiracy to rig the 2020 elections and subvert the democracy of this country.
Since last year, when the independent regulator of elections in the country, the EC, announced it intend to compile what it described as a new, and credible voters roll, the main opposition political party, NDC, has had cause to raise questions on the necessity of a new one.
According to the NDC, the constitution states that there would be a voter register, which shall be updated periodically, and thus, wanting to create a whole new register may be unconstitutional. Again, the taxpayer’s money to be spent on the exercise could be put to another use.
The party has embarked on numerous demonstrations across the country to register displeasure at EC’s unshakable resolve to compile a new voters roll. The party’s representatives in Parliament even, openly displayed placards to President Akufo-Addo when he was in the House for this year’s State of the Nation Address, after which they walked out.
The NDC could not fathom the desire for a new register, if not to rig the election, especially when the existing register has delivered two general elections and three district level elections.
The party further accused the EC Chairperson, Jean Mensah, of not cooperating and respecting political parties at the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC).
It explained that IPAC was created to reassure the electorate of free and fair elections devoid of manipulation, and its inputs have, over the years, helped to guarantee a level playing field for all the political parties.
“Unfortunately, the Jean Mensah-led EC decided, from the word go, not to accord IPAC the same level of cooperation and respect as had been the case since 1994.
“The conspiracy to use the Ghana Card, ladies and gentlemen, is the reason why at each and every turn Jean Mensah seems impervious of the implications of her conduct and decisions. Her only mission and motivation, it appears, is to please President Akufo-Addo and ensure his re-election for a second term,” the party’s National Chairman, Ofosu-Ampofo, read.
The post EC is scheming to rig December vote -NDC appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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