Government’s ‘Yes’ campaign in referendum ‘beats imagination’ - Dr Jinapor

A Senior Lecturer at the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), Dr. Ahmed Jinapor, has expressed astonishment at government for taking sides in the upcoming referendum.

“I also find it intriguing when a proposal of this sort emanating from government…will [have] government take positions.”

For him, “if you are giving us options, why will you take positions?”

“It beats my imagination,” he stated.

Dr. Jinapor expressed these sentiments on TV3 & 3FM’s The Key Points on Saturday, November 23 over the seeming stalemate regarding the December 17 exercise.

Despite plans far advanced to run the referendum, which is seeking to amend Article 55(3) of the 1992 Constitution, there have been divided opinions over which way to vote.

Major stakeholders have made their positions known, generating controversy as calls also heighten for the withdrawal of the plebiscite.

The organisers of the exercise, the Electoral Commission, Ghana (EC), had its Deputy Chair, Dr. Bossman Eric Asare, stir controversy after advocating a ‘Yes’ vote.

Before then, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo had called on Ghanaians to go out in their numbers to vote ‘Yes’ on D-Day in order to inch closer to the election of metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives (MMDCEs).

But Dr. Jinapor said the government should not have pointed voters to which option to select.

He cited how the referenda on the creation of six new regions were left solely in the hands of citizens to decide if they wanted them or not.

President Akufo-Addo “never campaigned publicly or privately,” he pointed out.

Dr. Jinapor, therefore, questioned why the situation is different this time around.

“That becomes a little problematic,” he laments.