EC has no integrity - Student Body

The Head of Intelligence for the Students Representative Council (SRC), University of Ghana, Daniel Obeng has cast doubt on the integrity of the Electoral Commission (EC).

According to him, the posture of the EC in relation to their petition for an extension of the recently held limited registration exercise because majority of the students on campus were 'tactically denied' from registering.

University students are considering the option of going to court to get the Electoral Commission (EC) to extend the just-ended limited registration exercise.

The exercise which was intended to register Ghanaians who have turned 18 years and above or those whose names were not on the electoral roll but are eligible to register, ended on Sunday, May 8 amidst concerns of possible disenfranchisement of potential voters, especially those in tertiary institutions.

Several university students – those from the University of Ghana (UG), Legon with over 40,000 students population, could not register during the exercise due to the fact that they had only one centre on their campuses which could not cater for the numbers there.

But the EC in a response yesterday said only 37 students from the University of Ghana Legon, missed the opportunity to have their names captured on the voter’s register at the end of the recent 10-day limited voters registration exercise.

However, Daniel Obeng in an interview with Kwame Tutu on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM said the response is unfortunate and funny.

He revealed that they had personally compiled the number of people that were not able to register. ''So I was wondering why the EC said only 37 students missed out the opportunity to have their names captured on the voter’s register. Where lies the integrity of the Electoral Commission? How can a body like the EC lie against students? We presented a copy of those who could not register to the EC. So I'm wondering how the EC came up with that number.''

Daniel Obeng explained, they had to push the EC during the registration to provide them with more centres but they failed to do so until they had to bring in the media- a situation he noted forced the EC to add two more centres four days for the exercise to end.

The student leader maintained that they will by close of today file their suit in court to get the EC to force them to extend the exercise.

He said they met with their lawyers and are almost through with the needed documentation and evidence to back their claims.

''It is the right of the students eligible to vote and do not have their names on the electoral roll to register...We are in an exams era and the EC should just extend the exercise so that the students who were able to register get captured.''