IT HAS emerged that over 4,000 students of the University of Ghana (UG) who were eager to get registered in the recent Electoral Commission’s (EC’s) limited registration exercise to enable them to vote in the November 7 polls were deliberately denied the opportunity to do so by the commission.
The Head of Intelligence Unit of the Students’ Representative Council (SRC) of the University of Ghana, Obeng Daniel, who made this known to the media in a statement, dared the EC to challenge the figure he had put out.
That was after the EC, which seems to be dancing to the rhythms of the President John Mahama-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) which has become very unpopular among university students nationwide, had told the general public that only 37 students of UG could not register during the exercise.
But Obeng Daniel, in setting the records straight in the statement, said that “…the EC still overlooked the list that we sent to the commissioner’s office. Now, the EC is here in the media trying so hard to lie to Ghanaians that only 37 students could not register, even as we have served the commission with several reports on the many students who could not register.”
He added that “as far as I am concerned, the intelligence that I have picked and the records that I have depict that the EC is only lying to the entire general populace simply because the body has failed in doing the right thing.”
According to him, the over 4,000 students were deliberately disenfranchised due to the provision of only one registration centre on UG’s campus at the earlier stage of the registration exercise.
The limited registration exercise, which began on April 28 and ended on May 8, was marred by agitations from thousands of university students nationwide due to the decision by the EC to provide only one registration centre on the various campuses.
Following the agitations, two additional centres were provided on the University of Ghana campus on the sixth day of the exercise.
Calls were made on the EC, chaired by Charlotte Osei, to extend the date for the end of the exercise to the 12th of May for university students due to the development but the commission categorically ruled out the possibility of extending the registration exercise.
The refusal angered the University Students Association of Ghana (USAG), which later threatened to sue the EC for disenfranchising its eligible members because it (EC) failed to provide adequate centres, leading to a number of eligible students not being able to register.
According to Obeng, majority of the students who turned 18 and above but were denied the opportunity to register in the just ended limited registration exercise were very poised to speak to the media if given the opportunity.
<<Print>>