‘We won’t go to sleep on the EC’ – NPP vows after mobilizing 12 parties to back new roll
The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has expressed willingness to ensure that the Electoral Commission (EC) compiles a fresh register to the satisfaction of all parties.
The NPP is part of a coalition of political parties in the country backing the EC’s decision to compile a new voter’s register for the upcoming elections.
The coalition organised a press conference in Accra, the same day a forum was organised by the Coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) for Good Governance to state reasons for the rejection of the EC’s proposal.
General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party, John Boadu, who addressed the media stressed that even though they support a fresh voter roll, “we are also cautioning the Electoral Commission, that the fact that we believe that the enhanced system is good for our electoral process, does not mean that we are going to sleep”.
He revealed that they “will continue to monitor them (EC)”.
“We will continue to monitor whichever vendor that gets the contract and make sure that they deliver to the satisfaction of us all in order to ensure that after December elections all of us will continue to go about our duties without any hindrance from anybody,” he elaborated.
Other members of the coalition are Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG), National Democratic Party (NDP), People’s National Convention (PNC), Convention People’s Party (CPP) the United Progressive Party (UPP), Ghana Freedom Party (GFP), United Love Party (ULP), New Vision Party (NVP), Yes People’s Party (YPP), Democratic People’s Party (DPP), Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP) and the Reformed Patriotic Democrats Party (RDP) believe the EC has made a solid case for a new register in terms of cost, time and credibility.
Founder of LPG and leader of the coalition, Kofi Akaploo, believes the EC has justified the acquisition of a new register and called on all other political parties to endorse the decision.
“The EC has made a solid case for a new register in terms of cost, time and credibility. We support the compilation of new register and we expect all political parties to support the EC in the quest to deliver a better-organized election than before,” he said.
The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has also mobilized a Coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) for Good Governance to oppose the move for a new register.
The current register was compiled in 2012 and was used for the last two general and parliamentary polls in Ghana.
The same register was also used for the referendum to create new regions as well as the local government polls to elect heads of the various assemblies and unit committee members in 2019.