<<Print>>

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has called for the immediate arrest of the deputy Eastern Regional Minister, Baba Jamal, and also demanded that a biometric voter registration should be used for the 2012 and all subsequent elections. Peter Mac Manu, Chairman of the NPP, yesterday told a news conference in Accra that his party is urging the Inspector General of Police to invite Baba Jamal as a matter of urgency and make him explain why he declared a �holy war� also known as �Jihad� during the campaign for the re-run of elections in six polling stations in the Akwatia Constituency. Mac Manu alleged that Baba Jamal�s declaration of Jihad was an instigating factor in the bloody political conflicts that preceded the elections and led to the firing of guns, smashing of human heads and the destruction of vehicles. The call for the arrest of Baba Jamal came moments after the Police in Akwatia had picked up the NPP Constituency organizer, Youth Organizer and two other party members. According to Mac Manu, the arrests had no reasons and appeared to have been politically motivated. �We also call on the leadership of the NDC to investigate his conduct and take appropriate action. It is important to note that unlike the NPP counterparts and Dr. Kofi Asare (the party�s candidate) who joined the NPP/NDC peace march, Baba Jamal refused to take part and the question is why?� Mac Manu stated. Hours to the said electoral re-run, the NPP General Secretary, Nana Ohene Ntow, had called on the security apparatus to search the residence of Baba Jamal on allegations that he was stock-piling guns and other offensive weapons. The NPP said during the polls, there were several cases of impersonation at all six polling stations and the use of fake ballot papers which were detected during the vote count. �It is instructive to observe that in all the discovered cases in all the six polling stations, the fake ballot papers had been thumb printed for the NDC candidate, Mr. Baba Jamal. The electoral Commission shall have to cause an investigation into the source of printing fake ballot papers,� Mac Manu read from the press statement. He opined that these scenarios would have been avoided if the Electoral Commission (EC) had used biometric registration processes to compile the register. The party demanded that �as a matter of urgency, the Electoral Commission commences work on the introduction of biometric voter registration to be used for the 2012 general elections. �This will go a long way to reduce if not altogether curtail voter impersonation and fraud. In this regard, we call on our development partners to assist in any way possible in overcoming any financial, technical or other obstacles which may impede the realization of the project,� Mac Manu stated.