2024 polls: Don’t act in favour of the incumbent – Mahama to EC

Former President John Draani Mahama has called the Electoral Commission (EC) to ensure that no Ghanaian is disenfranchised in the 2024 elections. Addressing an audience at Liberty University Convocation Virginia, USA, the former President also called on the security agencies particularly the Police to serve citizens and “not terrorise them”. “A judiciary owes it a duty to deliver impartial justice to the people; an Ombudsman owes a duty of care to the people to investigate all issues of malfeasance; a police force should exist to serve the people and not rein terror on them. “An electoral commission owes a sacred duty of care to the people by ensuring that they are included in the electoral process and not excluded in the interest of the incumbent administration; an independent media owes it to the people to not only report facts without bias but to hold the government of the day accountable,” the former President stated Meanwhile, the National Democratic Congress has raised red flags on some actions the EC intends to implement as the nation heads to the 2024 election. The NDC has advised the Electoral Commission to pull the brakes on implementing the Ghana Card as the sole document for the registration and acquisition of a voter’s ID card. Addressing the media at the NDC Headquarters in Accra, the National Chairman of the party, Samuel Ofosu Ampofo said the elimination of the use of passports and the guarantor system is unconstitutional. He said if the C.I. is passed in its current form it will disenfranchise prospective voters who for no fault of theirs are unable to obtain the national ID card issued by the NIA. The largest opposition party, therefore, threatened to employ all legitimate means including mass action to block the move should the EC refuse to heed the warning. "We will mobilize the broad masses of Ghanaians to wage a sustained and unrelenting campaign to prevent any attempt by the EC to strip large sections of the population of their right to vote. “The Ghana card is a new feature of our national life and cannot immediately become the only means to identify a Ghanaian only because it plays into the hands of the NPP whose members constitute the leadership of both the National Identification Authority and the EC.”

Former President John Draani Mahama has called the Electoral Commission (EC) to ensure that no Ghanaian is disenfranchised in the 2024 elections. Addressing an audience at Liberty University Convocation Virginia, USA, the former President also called on the security agencies particularly the Police to serve citizens and “not terrorise them”. “A judiciary owes it a duty to deliver impartial justice to the people; an Ombudsman owes a duty of care to the people to investigate all issues of malfeasance; a police force should exist to serve the people and not rein terror on them. “An electoral commission owes a sacred duty of care to the people by ensuring that they are included in the electoral process and not excluded in the interest of the incumbent administration; an independent media owes it to the people to not only report facts without bias but to hold the government of the day accountable,” the former President stated Meanwhile, the National Democratic Congress has raised red flags on some actions the EC intends to implement as the nation heads to the 2024 election. The NDC has advised the Electoral Commission to pull the brakes on implementing the Ghana Card as the sole document for the registration and acquisition of a voter’s ID card. Addressing the media at the NDC Headquarters in Accra, the National Chairman of the party, Samuel Ofosu Ampofo said the elimination of the use of passports and the guarantor system is unconstitutional. He said if the C.I. is passed in its current form it will disenfranchise prospective voters who for no fault of theirs are unable to obtain the national ID card issued by the NIA. The largest opposition party, therefore, threatened to employ all legitimate means including mass action to block the move should the EC refuse to heed the warning. "We will mobilize the broad masses of Ghanaians to wage a sustained and unrelenting campaign to prevent any attempt by the EC to strip large sections of the population of their right to vote. “The Ghana card is a new feature of our national life and cannot immediately become the only means to identify a Ghanaian only because it plays into the hands of the NPP whose members constitute the leadership of both the National Identification Authority and the EC.”