Editor-in-chief of the crusading guide newspaper Malik Kweku Baako has called for truce from all political parties in their attack of the Electoral Commission. Even though party leaders can share their sentiments on the ongoing problems facing the registration process they must do so with a high level of responsibility, he added. “It is good to lament and complain, but the way and manner it is done is the problem. Some are out there bastardising and criminalising the EC, others are playing the tribal cards and saying it is the EC who is behind them” He called for balance in the criticisms, adding that political parties and the citizens must all take their share of the blame in this violence dominated registration process. On Joy FM’s news analysis programme News File on Saturday, Malik Baako said he was not ready to overrate the perceived operational inefficiencies of the EC even though he conceded the EC could not escape blame. He said alien and minor registration, cue contractors, and mischief makers were all responsible for the long queues experienced at the various registration centres, and not necessarily poor projections by the EC. He expressed fears that the on- going registration process could end up with about three million new voters, a number which he said was not possible considering our population growth. He called on all parties and stake holders to help clean the voters register to ensure the credibility of the entire democratic process. Panel member Alex Segbefia who is the campaign coordinator of the NDC, described the on going registration exercise as complete shambles and said it was the vindication of the concerns the party had raised prior to the exercise. He blamed other political parties for not being as vociferous as the NDC in raising the alarm ahead of the exercise. This according to him, contributed to the chaos that has characterised the registration process. Election rigging, he maintained did not only occur on Election Day, saying “there are opportunities for people with ulterior motives to influence every step of the voting process which in the final analysis would affect the final results.” Mr. Segbefia attributed the earlier defeats by the NDC to poor vigilance in the registration process and said the party was resolved to keeping a close eye on the events of this registration process. Author: Nathan Gadugah