MP for Madina Slams EC Boss over Limited Voter Registration Discrepancies
Hon Francis Xavier Sosu, the Member of Parliament for Madina Constituency in the Greater Accra Region, has slammed the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Ghana (EC), MadamJean Mensah over the discrepancies characterizing the ongoing limited voter registration exercise.
The MP expressed worry over irregularities in the exercise at Madina and has vowed to resist any attempt by the government to deny first-time voters the opportunity to register onto the voter register to vote out the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 2024 polls.
Hon Sosu’s reaction followed the non-functioning biometric machines used by the EC at various centers in his constituency, affecting the smooth take-off of the exercise.
The Electoral Commission commenced the limited voter registration exercise on Tuesday, September 12 regardless of a suit filed by some political parties.
The parties, which include the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Convention People’s Party (CPP), All People’s Congress (APC), Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG) and the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP), filed an application for an interlocutory injunction to restrict the EC from conducting the exercise at its district offices.
The parties believe that the EC’s decision to restrict the exercise to its district offices would deprive many eligible voters who turned 18 years old after the 2020 general elections their right to register to vote in public elections.
Addressing the media after visiting the registration centre in Madina, Mr. Sosu described the exercise so far as disaster-prone and accused the government of manipulating the process to rig the 2024 general elections.
“What the EC is doing we believe is part of a grand scheme by the NPP administration to suppress votes where they think it is the stronghold of the NDC and we will not allow that to happen.
“In Madina here, we have told them that if they want to do this exercise in peace because we are for peace but if they want war we shall give them war that is what we want them to know,” he stated.
The NDC lawmaker urged the EC to put pragmatic measures in place to salvage the situation to avert possible chaotic scenes at registration centers.
He reiterated that NDC will monitor the exercise keenly to ensure EC does the right thing.