Jean Mensa, Bossman Asare want to 'create confusion' - Asiedu Nketia

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has accused the Electoral Commission of deliberately disenfranchising their members in their strongholds in the ongoing limited voters' registration exercise.

Speaking to members of the press at the party's Headquarters today(Thursday), General Secretary of the party, Johnson Asiedu Nketia explained that they have monitored the ongoing limited registration exercise and that they feel vindicated about the concerns they raised prior to the exercise which the EC failed to adhere to.

During the period leading to the commencement of the limited registration exercise, the NDC raised several red flags which the party thought if not addressed may adversely impact on the success of the exercise.

"Most of the issues we raised were fiercely ignored and treated with contempt by the Jean Mensa-Bossman Asare led Electoral Commission," Johnson Asiedu Nketia said.

Highlighting on some of the irregularities that have been perpetrated in the ongoing limited registration exercise, the National Democratic Congress are of the view that the Electoral Commission does not look prepared to organize a free, fair and credible elections come 2020.

"We strongly raised issues with the setting of targets by the Electoral Commission in relation to the expected number of qualified voters to be registered, insisting on the need for a reliable population data from the Ghana Statistical Service."

"We were of the opinion that, sufficient statistical data will be indispensable in the accurate planning of procurement and deployment of electoral materials, as well as the effective planning of an efficient distribution of registration centres across the country," he pointed.

When the NDC expressed series of misgivings about the commission approaching an important exercise such as the compilation of voter register through the guesswork instead of scientifically determined figures, the EC responded in a rather bizarre manner.

"The rippling effect is what Ghanaians have experienced in the ongoing limited registration exercise," he added.

He added that key among complaints raised by the National Democratic Congress about the limited registration include; "online equipment failure, poor and haphazard deployment of online equipment, inadequate number of registration centres leading to over congestion at the centres, shortage of registration materials particularly in our strong holds; illegal and clandestine registration through collusion between EC officials and operatives of the ruling party, wrong capturing of registrants details of polling stations and Intimidation of registrants in NDC strong holds by NPP vigilantes operating on the guise of National Security."

"There is a well calculated and well rehearsed orchestration designed by the Jean Mensa-Bossman Asare led Electoral Commission to intentionally create a state of confusion that will allow capable, privileged and well positioned political players to exploit in pursuit of their parochial partisan interest rather than the national interest of securing a credible register which is a pre requisite for free and fair elections," he said.