The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) says the Electoral Commission (EC) intends to suppress votes in their stronghold with its decision to conduct the 2023 limited voter registration exercise at its district offices.

According to the NDC, this suppression of votes will aid the Commission in rigging the 2024 general election in favour of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP).

The National Communications Officer of the party, Sammy Gyamfi made this allegation in an interview. Speaking with the media on Thursday, Mr Gyamfi insisted that the party will not allow the EC to proceed in this manner.

He indicated that they will deploy all legal means at their disposal to ensure this plan is aborted completely.

“You know why they want to do this? Because by restricting the registration centres to their district offices, it will be possible for them not only to suppress votes…but the second objective is to rig the process through gerrymandering.”

• NDC, 4 other parties sue EC over limited voters registration

“When the registration is done at the electoral area level, the key stakeholders in the process who are the political parties are able to recruit, train, and deploy polling agents who reside in that catchment area. And so if a person comes to be registered and the person does not reside in that area, they will be able to challenge that registration,” he stated.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, September 7, the NDC and four other political parties sued the electoral management body over the same issue.

The suit which is joined by the Convention People’s Party (CPP), All People’s Congress (APC), Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG) and the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP) say the decision will disenfranchise many eligible voters.

They are thus asking the Supreme Court to prevent the electoral management body from proceeding with the exercise pending the final determination of the substantive matter.

The NDC through its Director of Legal Affairs, Godwin Edudzi Tameklo had earlier warned of this suit. 

He also made same argument that the Commission’s decision will prevent many new voters from getting onto the electoral roll. 

Background

The Electoral Commission has announced that it will commence the 2023 voters’ registration exercise on Tuesday, September 12, and end on Monday, October 2.

In the said announcement, the Commission added that the exercise would take place at its district offices across the country.

Jean Mensa, the chairperson of the Electoral Commission, made this known on Thursday, August 17, at a press briefing in Accra dubbed, ‘Let the Citizen Know.’

She also disclosed a GH¢10 charge for the replacement of a lost or misplaced voter’s ID card.

“The voter’s registration exercise will afford Ghanaians who have attained the age of 18 years, since the last registration of 2020 and others who are more than 18 years, but for various reasons couldn’t register during the 2020 registration exercise an opportunity to do so.”

“The EC will embark on voters’ registration in all 268 district offices of the Commission. The exercise will be held from September 12 to October 2,” she disclosed.

But this decision has not received the support of many political parties.