The Director of Legal of the National Democratic Congress, Godwin Edudzi Tamakloe has accused the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Madam Jean Mensa, of deliberately disenfranchising young Ghanaians.
Speaking on TV3’s New Day, he said the decision to register new voters at the EC’s district offices is a deliberate attempt to keep the NPP in power.
“Madam Jean Mensah, Bossman Asare and other commissioners have conspired to deliberately disenfranchise persons who have turned 18. We have an electoral commissioner who believes her continuous stay in power is not a protection offered by the 1992 Constitution, but rather by the continuous stay of the Nana Akuffo-Addo administration,” he alleged.
He described explanations offered by the Electoral Commission for conducting the exercise at its district offices as untenable.
“The CI 90, as amended by Ci 126 regulation 30 that regulates the work of the Electoral Commission mandates the Electoral Commission to revise the register annually, but since 2020, this current Electoral Commission led by Madam Jean Mensah for 2 years now, has not tried revising the register as mandated by the 1992 Constitution,” he noted.
The NDC legal advisor continued that with the current approach, young Ghanaians who have attained the voting age are subjected to inhumane treatment just to acquire a voter’s ID card.
“The special budget committee of Parliament in 2020 voted an amount of $74million, to acquire new gadgets for the EC, yet less than 3 years, the Electoral Commission officers complain of faulty machinery which has become a hindrance for the current registration exercise as people form long queues in wait for faulty machines and networks,” Edudzi Tamakloe lamented.
He noted that despite the numerous calls on the EC to open more registration centers, Madam Jean Mensa and her officials have decided not to budge.
Meanwhile the Electoral Commission of Ghana has already started its limited voter registration across all 16 regions of Ghana at all 268 District offices of the Commission for eligible Ghanaians, who have turned 18 and above to be enrolled on the register.
This exercise which started on 12th September will end on October 2, 2023.
By Clara Boadi Konadu
