Use current register if you believe you can win 2020 - NDC dares NPP, EC

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) is daring the Electoral Commission (EC) to use the current voters’ register for the next general election, if it has nothing to hide.

The NDC, is particularly also daring the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to ensure this current voters’ register is used for the next general election.

The call made by the NDC, is geared towards stopping the use of any repeated shenanigans deployed by the NPP in winning the 2016 general elections.

The General Secretary of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, who threw the challenge, said the NDC was now aware of what the NPP did to win the 2016 elections.

“In fact, we are saying that let us use the same register so that given the state of our knowledge of the shenanigans that were played by the NPP in 2016 elections ,we will see whether they can win again”, he challenged.

The General Secretary of the NDC, was addressing a press conference yesterday at the party headquarters, to state the NDC’s position on the proposal by the Electoral Commission to compile a new voter register.

He has, therefore, accused the chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Mrs. Jean Mensa of doing everything possible to make Nana Addo President again, when she should be seen as neutral and fair.

“Many Ghanaians including NDC hold the view that there is something sinister behind the ploy by the Jean Mensa-Bossman Asare led EC to compile a new voters’ register.

Their conduct so far portends a devious plan to set the stage to suppress voter numbers in the strongholds of the NDC and to bloat voter numbers in stronghold of the NPP”, he claimed.

According to the chief scribe of the NDC , the current voters’ register was used in electing President Akufo-Addo and therefore finds it strange that there could be a proposal to compile a new one.

“Two days ago, the current voters’ register was used to successfully elect about 6,600 District Assembly members and about 33,000 unit committee members. Yet the EC is telling us that that same register cannot be used to elect 1 President and 275 Members of Parliament and therefore a new voters’ register must be compiled “, he added.

More disturbing for the NDC and its opposition to the proposal for the new voters ‘ register is that, it is going to cost the tax payer a whopping Ghc433 million when in fact next year will be 10, since the last population census was conducted.

His argument was that it is after a population census is conducted that the figures determine whether there is a need to compile a new register, but the EC is proposing the compiling of a new register before the population census ,creating and setting the stage to waste money at the time everyone is crying for money.

“And we are going to do this at a time when teachers are crying ,nurse and contractors are crying because they are owed huge emoluments and entitlement by the state”, he stressed.