Police approves NDC’s Sept. 17 protest against EC; agrees routes

The Ghana Police Service has approved the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) planned demonstration against the Electoral Commission (EC) on Tuesday, September 17.

The General Secretary of the party, Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, revealed this in an address to the media at the EC Headquarters after a meeting between the leadership of the party and the Accra Regional Police Command.

Mr Kwetey said that the regional police command agreed with all the proposed routes for the demonstration.

He noted that the party sought confirmation of the exact starting point and endpoint for the demonstration, which was agreed upon.

“We had a very good meeting with the regional police bosses and the agreement is that we are going to proceed with our demonstration on the 17th of this month. And it’s going to happen not just in Greater Accra but in all the other regions of the country at the same time.

“We wanted to have a confirmation about the endpoint – in terms of the route, we had an agreement that we are going to start from the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, proceed through Farisco Traffic Light through to TUC, continue through the Ministry and come all the way to Parliament and end up in front of the premises of the Electoral Commission,” he said

The NDC general secretary said that the demonstration against the EC goes beyond the party, stressing that the country is heading toward critical elections and it is in everyone’s interest to ensure that the voters’ register is credible and trustworthy.

“…There are issues and we are pressing for a forensic audit to be done, that’s actually the reason why we want to embark on this demonstration. As the NCO just rightly said, if there is nothing to hide, I think there should really be no problem at all, they should open their door and say come and check and be certain that there is nothing in order for the whole country to proceed knowing that everything is okay,” he added.

Background

The National Chairman of the (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketiah announced that the party will hold a nationwide demonstration on September 17 against the EC over its refusal to commission a forensic audit of the voter register for the December polls.

He stated that the lack of information has raised suspicions, which is why the demonstration has become necessary among other concerns.

Also, the NDC Minority in Parliament raised concerns about the voter register exhibition, alleging that it has been tampered with.

According to the Minority Leader, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, the voter register has been riddled with irregularities and flaws, asserting that the NDC cannot vouch for the integrity of the voter register.

“The Electoral Commission has admitted that the voter register is riddled with irregularities and flaws. I dare say Mr Speaker, the scale of these irregularities is such that someone may have tampered with the voter register database.

“Mr Speaker, I’m sorry to say that we cannot vouch for the integrity of the voter register as it stands at the moment. The details of these irregularities are so fertile and cannot be accepted. We, therefore, demand a forensic audit into the voter register database,” he said.

Source: MyJoyOnline.