Election 2024: NDC to stage demo on Sept 17 …over flaws in register
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) says it would on Tuesday, stage a nationwide protest to express their displeasure against what they said is the Electoral Commission’s intransigence in addressing irregularities found in the voters register.
The party maintained that there were widespread irregularities found in the register during the just ended voter exhibition exercise which needed to be addressed.
In an attempt to have audience and have the irregularities addressed, the party called for a forensic audit of the register; a call which has been rejected by the Commission.
Addressing journalists on Monday after filing nomination forms on behalf of the party’s flagbearer, John Mahama, the National Chairman of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, emphasised that the party would besiege the offices of the Commission nationwide to press home their demand.
“On September 17, the NDC will launch a massive protest in every regional capital.
We will gather at the offices of the Electoral Commission, and in Accra, we will march to the headquarters and submit additional petitions, pressing for the Commission to act in a way that ensures a peaceful, free, and fair election,” Mr Nketiah said.
The Commission, Mr Nketiah suspects may be hiding something for which reason it doesn’t want an independent audit into the register.
He said the party was yet to receive any updates regarding their demand for a probe into how Biometric Verification Devices got stolen under 24 hour camera surveillance and the subsequent arrest of a man in connection with the missing machines.
The integrity of the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections, he warned, could be compromised if the Commission failed to address their concerns which goes to the heart of the electoral process.
“Is it possible for a district officer anywhere to transfer names of voters to places they didn’t choose? And they are saying it is possible. If it is possible, then we are not safe,” he stated.
He then charged the rank and file of the party to pour out in their numbers on the day of the protest in order to demand for a credible register for the polls.
BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI
