United Voices For Change, a pressure group in the Ashanti region has spoken straight to the Electoral Commission not to toy with Ghana’s democracy.
According to them, Ghana needs fairness, transparency and electoral credibility in election 2024.
Speaking to the media today ahead of the electoral Commission’s decision to exhibit the voter registration exercise tomorrow,Mr ANTWI SYLVESTIN RONALD ,CONVENOR of the group made it clear that Article 42 of our 1992 Constitution enjoins every Ghanaian above 18yrs have the right and mandate to vote and he quoted that , “every citizen of Ghana of eighteen years of age or above and of sound mind has the right to vote and is entitled to be registered as a voter for the purposes of public elections and referenda”
Again, in Article 45 (a), “the EC is to compile the register of voters and revise it at such periods as may be determined by law” and it is on this note that we, United Voices for Change is calling on the Mrs. Jean Adukwei Mensah, Dr. Bossman Asare and the other members of the Electoral Commission to, as a matter of urgency, postpone their scheduled register exhibition slated for Tuesday, 20th to 27th August, 2024.
He said,the Electoral Commission led by Madam Jean Adukwei Mensah on May 7th 2024, opened nominations for voter registration which came to an end on 27th May 2024. And on August 1st 2024, they opened mop-up voter registration exercise and today, Jean Mensah’s electoral commission is saying, in accordance with their responsibilities, the exhibition will take place from tomorrow, 20th August, 2024. May we ask, what are they going to exhibit do since the register to be exhibited is not even ready?
“We remember on 19th March, 2024 the opposition NDC had a press conference on some missing or the stolen BVD machines which was later confirmed by the Commission and after some weeks or months on 13th April, 2024, the Jean Mensah led Electoral Commission came out with a statement which was issued by Dr. Bossman Asare of the arrest of the culprits. Till today, nothing has become of that issue not forgetting that, these stolen BVDs are the same devices used for voter registration.
Ghana is one big peaceful democracy. Despite the changes and democratic experimentations since 1957, We will like to state emphatically that, Jean Mensah and her aligns in the Commission cannot be allowed ruin this country for their selfish, greedy and unholy interest. We in the United Voices for Change want ask the Electoral Commission the following questions;
Why is the Jean Mensah lead Electoral Commission not releasing the register to the various political parties if the registers are ready for exhibition?
Why are all other political parties including the NPP quiet on this important issue that can compromise the elections and affect the results? Or is it because in their case, they have been served with the registers some weeks ago?
What has become of the suspected culprits of the stolen BVDs that were later arrested in a statement by Dr. Bossman Asare.
Why has the Electoral Commission failed to make it known Ghanaians the serial codes or numbers of the stolen BVDS to help the various parties to cross-check against the serial numbers showing on the register?
Can those stolen BVDS be used to register people? Yes! Therefore, the only way to check any illegal registration into the register by these stolen BVDs is for the parties to have the serial numbers. Yet, the Jean Mensah led EC says NO! and we in UVC ask, WHAT IS THE SECURITY ISSUE OF STOLEN DEVICE since the illegal use of it can compromise our elections?
We ask again, has the Jean Mensah EC thought of the fact that, their actions and inactions can throw this state into total chaos?
Is the Jean Mensah aware that, elections are processes and not an event? Looking at how things are going, they can cause unrest in the country.
Ghana has come far with our democracy and independence and therefore any attempt to jeopardize it will not be entertained. Therefore, we are serving a strong warning to the Jean Mensah led Electoral Commission to, as a matter of urgency, put a stop to their scheduled voter register exhibition tomorrow and rather release the registers to the political parties and allowed them time to go through and prepare before they go ahead with it.
Again, we are calling on Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Ga Mantse, Bishop Sam Owusu, UN Peace Ambassador to Ghana, Archbishop Nicholas Duncan Williams, National Chief Imam, All COSs, to voice out and call the Electoral Commission to order. “It indicated.
“We are by this press conference informing the Jean Mensah led Electoral Commission to communicate to Ghanaians their decision in halting this unholy, chaotic, war-drum-beating move and we want to assure her and her members of the Commission that, the United Voices for Change will resist any attempt by them to plunge this country into turmoil as this press conference will be followed by an unprecedented demonstration should they go ahead with it! “.. END….
Source:Ayisah Foster||The Punch Newspaper
ANTWI SYLVESTIN RONALD
CONVENOR
UNITED VOICES FOR CHANGE
0243084353
