<<Print>>The flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akufo-Addo, and his running-mate, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, have begun another crafty scheme towards having a large number of voters in the Volta Region with Ewe-sounding names, disenfranchised, similar to what they sent them to the Supreme Court, for eight months in the Election Petition.
The two at a press conference held in the luxurious Alisa Hotel in Accra, claimed they have uncovered evidence that showed that close to 80,000 Togolese, have also registered as Ghanaians in the voters’ register, an evidence the party claims show that the register was “bloated” especially with foreign nationals.
They produced a document that looked computer generated thus hugely suspicious to pass for a voters’ register. But they insisted that their evidence was a justification for the Electoral Commission (EC), to compile a new voters’ register for the 2016 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections.
Among the names put out were, Kumaglo Enyonam, Lanyo Afi, Nitenu Doris, Hini Aku, Agormesu Godsway, Ada Akpene, Koekou Kossi Mensah, Kotoe Akosia, Kotoe Dogbeda, Kumaglo Enyonam, Kana Akpene, Glidja Kokou Setsoafia, Nossi Yao Francis, Atikpo Kokou Nyavo, Braima Adama, Doe Vida and Kodobisah Ernest Kofi. The NPP claimed, these names were uncovered as registered voters in both Ghana and Togo.
Five other names were also put out as voters having registered in Ghana and Burkina Faso. The Burkinabe register equally looked suspicious as some of the images were not clear for easy comparison with the Ghanaian Voter ID cards displayed.
Although they matched the names in the Ghanaian EC Register against the Togolese Register, there were gaping deficiencies in the so-called Togolese document. For instance, aside numbers attached to an image on the Togolese document, details such as sex and age were missing.
Amazingly, the Ghanaian voter register they provided with, people mainly from the Volta Region also had Polling Station Code, registration date. They had only ID numbers, sex, names and age of the supposed registered voter.
But Dr. Bawumia, insisted that data available to them shows unusual increases in the voters register in several Constituencies between 2008 and 2012. He mentioned Pusiga in the Upper East Region, Hohoe and Nkwanta in the Volta Region, Kpone-Katamanso in the Greater Accra Region, among others.
Nana Akufo-Addo’s running-mate said the nation recorded a 25 percent increase in its voters register between 2008 and 2012.
“An increase of the voters register by 25 percent between two elections is abnormally high and there are also several instances of this. One cannot credibly explain for example how increases in the voters’ register of magnitudes exceeding 40 percent can take place. Where did the people come from?”
He said “what is interesting about the data is that, quite a large number of the constituencies with unusual increases in the voters register are those that border neighboring countries.
Take the Western Region for example, where notwithstanding the oil find, Sekondi and Takoradi saw a 5% decrease in registered voters while Suaman and Nzema East saw increases in the voters register by 23% and 27.7% respectively.”
NPP had tried to rally the various opposition parties to press for a new voters register. The party presented a proposal to that effect to the EC. But the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), the Convention Peoples Party (CPP), the Peoples National Convention (PNC), have rejected the call for a new register.
Dr Bawumia, said the party has presented their case for a new voters’ register to the EC.
“During the 2012 election cycle, the EC presented different figures for total number of registered voters,” he said.
According to him, there is a loop hole with the use of NHIS card by foreigners to register as voters. “Brong-Ahafo and Volta Region recorded high numbers during the special registration for NHIS cards,” he said.
The NPP presidential candidate is convinced the EC must compile a new and credible voters’ register before the 2016 elections because the evidence available to the party shows the current register is flawed.
Nana Addo said at the press conference that, a new voter’s register should be the “first step in ensuring we have transparent elections.”
According to him, the party has had to make an official position on the matter, because they care “deeply for our democracy,” and that their actions are to “ensure a peaceful Ghana.”
“Attached to our message to the EC this morning was the documented evidence supporting our case for a new register.
We are making this public statement, because we believe we owe it as a duty to the Ghanaian people to let them know and understand why we are making this call to the EC,” he said.
Nana Addo said the CPP, the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) and some religious organizations, have also raised concerns about the current register”.