The Electoral Commission (EC) is set to meet the various political parties and key stakeholders next week over the need for a new voter’s register. The meeting follows the submission of positions of political parties and other groups articulating their views on the issue.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) is calling for a new and credible electoral roll for the 2016 general elections. They have questioned the credibility of the current register which they claim contains names of some foreigners. The National Organizer of the People’s National Convention(PNC), Emmanuel Wilson who affirmed the party’s support for the EC however told Citi News that the party is awaiting an official invitation from the EC, “To the best of my knowledge, we have not received any letter from the Electoral Commission and so we are hoping that we should get the invitation to join in the discussions, the EC has always communicated to us through a formal letter.” he said.
Meanwhile the General Secretary of the Progressive Peoples Party (PPP) Kofi Asamoah-Siaw, has described the EC’s decision to consider proposals as a step in the right direction. “We will make our case forcefully and that if the EC wants to consider the compilation of a new voter’s register, it can only do so when we have a national identification in place otherwise the problems that are being debated now can never be solved with by just opening the register again,” he noted. About 15 political parties and over 30 groups have submitted proposals on the matter. The meeting which is expected to be held by the end of the month, will allow the political parties defend their respective positions while being questioned on the basis of their arguments. In a related development, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has boycotted a debate on the country’s voters’ register organized by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA). The NDC believes the move amounts to the IEA usurping the powers of the Electoral Commission(EC). But the IEA in a response maintained that it is within their mandate to discuss issues of national concern.
Source – Citifm
