The Eastern regional branch of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) has described as "flawed" argument that, the voters’ register of Ghana is not credible; hence, a new register must be opened by the Electoral Commission.
“The CPP, Eastern regional wing monitored with utmost dismay and disappointment, the press conference organized by the NPP ostensibly calling for the withdrawal of our current voters' register for a fresh register to be compiled. CPP in the Eastern region do not support this call, especially, when the so-called ‘evidence’ presented by the people championing this call is flawed.”
This was contained in a press release issued by the party on Wednesday and signed by the regional secretary, Semefa Mawutor. According to the CPP, the NPP has ill-motives; hence, attempts to discredit the voters’ register which was used during the Talensi Bye-election.
Below is the full statement:
National Voters' Register Still Credible! Stop Targeting Non- Akans The Convention People's Party (CPP) Eastern Regional Wing monitored with utmost dismay and disappointment, the press conference organized yesterday by NPP ostensibly, calling for the withdrawal of our current voters' register for a fresh register to be compiled. CPP in the Eastern Region do not support this call especially when the so called "evidence" presented by the people championing this call is flawed. Our reasons not to support this call are based on the following.
During the recently held by-election in the Talensi Constituency, all the major political parties including the NPP actively participated and in the end commended the Electoral Commission for a good job done with no protests based on the voters register.
The same register the NPP is discrediting today was used for the elections. The same voters' register the NPP is challenging will be used for the September 1 District Assembly Elections. Per the NPP's logic, must a different voters' register be used for the upcoming District Assembly elections?
The NPP during the later part of ex-President Kufuor's regime passed the Dual citizenship act allowing citizens to hold nationality of countries other than Ghana. This means they can vote in Ghana while holding dual citizenship.
Therefore for Dr. Bawumia to create the impression that some 76,000 voters in the Ghanaian register are also captured in our neighbouring Togolese voters' register (assuming is true) only smacks of dishonesty and a slap in the face of the very law his party passed.
In any case, how can we verify the authenticity of the so-called Togolese Voters' Register Dr. Bawumia presented during their Press Conference especially when the pictures in the "Togolese Register" come with no names?
We vividly recall how the same Dr. Bawumia prior to the 2012 Presidential Election Petition assured Ghanaians of rock-solid evidence that will eventually incriminate the Electoral Commission that some technology was being used to change results to favour one candidate over another only to be disappointed by presenting a different case in court.
Our party founder Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah struggled to have a Country where we see ourselves as one people. We are tempted to believe this is just one of the NPP's tribal attacks on Ewes and Northerners as all the so-called foreigners in the registers presented are either of the aforementioned origins and a deliberate blackout of names of Akans who may be citizens of the third neighbouring country Côte D'Ivoire.
Is this a furtherance of the infamous Osafo Maafo tribal theory? Finally, we all are aware of the economic hardship we are experiencing currently as Ghanaians and therefore will ask the government to rather channel the funds it will be committing to the preparation of a new voter register into infrastructural expansion.
In conclusion, we in the Convention Peoples Party in the Eastern Region still have utmost faith and confidence in the Voters' Register and therefore urge our mother National CPP not to support such a course. We also urge the Electoral Commission of Ghana to disregard the petition presented by the NPP.
Long Live CPP Long Live Ghana Signed Semefa Mawutor CPP Eastern Regional Secretary
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