Although the NDC had indicated that it will participate in a debate on the voters’ register, the governing party did a massive u-turn hours to the controversial debate, the Institute for Economic Affairs (IEA) has revealed.

“We are surprised that just a few hours to the debate they have issued a statement to the media and not to us” declining to be part of the debate, Jean Mensah told Joy News, Tuesday.

According to organizers of the debate, the IEA, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) wrote two weeks ago that it was bringing a team led by the party’s General Secretary to debate the NPP on its unrelenting call for a new voters' register.

But the NDC in a statement signed by its General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, said the issue of the voters’ register is being handled by the Electoral Commission (EC) hence the new decision to stay out of the debate.

The statement further accused the IEA of usurping the work of the EC. The NDC also urged the IEA to channel any inquiry on the voters’ register to the EC.

Stressing the party's position to do a late U-turn, Deputy General Secretary Koku Anyidoho told Joy News, the NDC took the decisison in the national interest. He said withdrawing from the debate should not be seen as anything dramatic.

Even resolute Christians often break their 31st night resolutions few days into the new year, he contrasted.

The IEA has however rejected accusations of usurping the powers of the EC. Jean Mensah insisted "that is not what we have sought to do". 

"We were all excited to hear the NDC views. Indeed they have sent us their well-thought out document" until they decided to pull out Jean Mensah said,

She defended her organisation, stressing that it was working to provide an objective platform for an informed debate on the voters' register.

The debate which came off Tuesday morning in Accra, was attended by NPP's Prof. Mike Ocquaye who used the platform to call on Interpol to audit Ghana's voter's register.

An unimpressed Koku Anyidoho laughed off NPP's call on the intervention of INTERPOL. According to him, the latest call by the NPP on the voters' register is getting to absurd levels.

"If the Interpol should come in, it is the NPP that will be embarrassed" he maintianed. This is because the NPP's evidence that more than 76,000 foreigners presumed to the Togolese is a "complete fabrication".