The governing National Democratic Congress appears to have relaxed its stance on the raging debate over calls for a new voters’ register for the 2016 general elections.
The NDC had outrightly rejected calls for a new voters’ register, insisting the electoral roll is credible in its existing form.
Party General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah argued there were no guarantees that a new register will not be contaminated by minors as happened with the current register.
But the Chairman of the party Kofi Porturphy told Joy News the party is opened to proposals put forward by the other political parties.
The political parties are currently in a meeting with the Electoral Commission as they deliberate on proposals put forward on the matter.
The New Patriotic Party, Convention People’s Party and the Progressive People’s Party have been emphatic the current register is bloated and must be changed.
However, the NDC joined by the People’s National Convention said a review and a cleanup of the register must be the way to go instead of replacing it with an entirely new one.
In an interview with Joy News, Kofi Porturphy stated that even though the party’s position is clear they are open to discussions.
“We are going to fine-tune the proposals that everybody has made to assist the Electoral Commission and the nation to assume a position that is positive for Ghana.
“A position that would be less acrimonious, a position that would not be a waste of resources, a position that would not disadvantage or disenfranchise people in this country.”
He maintained that the party has not taken entrenched position on the register as it goes into the meeting with the EC and other parties. “We have not because we have an open mind,” he explained.
NPP’s former Chairman Peter Mac Manu who is also representing his party at the meeting told Joy News the party expects the Electoral Commission to redeem its battered image and move to a higher level, by regaining the confidence of the people.
He challenged other political parties to let their arguments on the register be influenced by a “national perspective”, and not political perspective.
He said the NPP has started going round some African countries to canvass support for a new register but would not mention names of countries they have already visited.
Source: Joy News
| Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. |
