The National Chairman of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has expressed his dissatisfaction with the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana’s decision to print ballot papers for the upcoming general elections while unresolved issues surrounding the voters’ register persist.
Addressing the media in Ho today October 10, Mr Asiedu Nketia accused the EC of attempting to rig the election in favour of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).
According to him, proceeding with ballot paper printing without addressing fundamental concerns about the voters’ register raises serious questions about the integrity of the election.
He reminded Ghanaians that, over the past three months, the NDC has consistently raised concerns regarding irregularities detected during the EC’s limited voter registration exercise.
The party believes that these irregularities are significant enough to undermine the credibility of the register, which, in turn, could affect the integrity of the entire electoral process.
The NDC, along with other civil society organizations, staged a nationwide demonstration to press the EC to address their concerns.
However, Mr Asiedu Nketia noted that the EC has so far failed to take any concrete action to resolve these issues.
The EC had earlier responded to the NDC’s complaints, requesting two weeks to review the raised concerns. Yet, the NDC claims that no substantial progress has been made since then.
Instead, the EC recently issued a letter requesting that the NDC provide party agents to witness the printing of the ballot papers—a move that the NDC sees as premature and dismissive of their concerns.
Mr. Asiedu Nketia expressed the party’s dissatisfaction with the EC’s decision and called on all Ghanaians and civil society organizations to demand that the EC take appropriate action to resolve these issues before proceeding with ballot paper printing.
He warned that if the EC continues to ignore their concerns, the NDC’s next line of action will be far more significant than the previous nationwide demonstration.
