Mass defection to hit NDC

Angry National Democratic Congress (NDC) foot-soldiers have threatened mass defection from the ruling party if the decision of North Tongu constituency executives to reject the Biometric Voters Register (BVR) for some electoral areas in the constituency is not reversed immediately.

They have, therefore, petitioned the founder of the party, Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings (Rtd), and the national executives, to intervene in the raging controversy which they noted was threatening party cohesion.

The North Tongu constituency executives have refused to allow the inclusion of names compiled at four polling stations at Juapong for various reasons including failure to submit the BVR booklets through the appropriate channel, and incomplete data entry on the BVR forms.

Another ground for the rejection is that registration officers copied names from the Electoral Commission’s voters register into the NDC register.

The list also allegedly contained mostly New Patriotic Party (NPP) members.

Affected polling stations are Methodist Primary School, Juapong (A) and (B) A.R.S, Juapong (A) and (B), Travellers Inn, Juapong and DA/JTL Avedzi (A) and (B).

But the NDC foot-soldiers stated that the move would disenfranchise the four branches of the party in the upcoming parliamentary and presidential primaries of the party, slated for November 7, 2015.

The petitioners led by three branch Secretaries namely—Richard C. Amansunu (Secretary Podoe Branch), Mr. Daniel Kpeglo (Secretary Sokpekofe Branch), and Mr. Seth Dzam (Adexoto branch)—said the registration exercise was not done fairly, transparently and equitably in the North Tongu constituency.

Consequently, they asked that the booklets be accepted for registration.

However, they said if the booklets were being doubted to be genuine new ones should be issued to be used in registering those in the rejected booklets.

Meanwhile some branch executives and foot-solders have hinted Today about their intention to embark on a demonstration against the NDC leadership in the area next week Friday, 16 October, 2015 to register their protest at the development.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Today, spokesperson for the Concerned branch Chairmen of North Tongu constituency of the NDC, Mr. Daniel Kpeglo, accused the constituency executives of pursuing their own agenda at the expense of the general good of the party.

He, thus, called on residents who are disappointed in the executives to join them to demonstrate against the executives.

Mr. Kpeglo on behalf of branch chairman called on the National Executive Committee (NEC) of NDC to swiftly impress upon the constituency executives to rescind their decision to reject the names of qualified delegates from the biometric voters register in order to avert any possible bloodbath in the area during the Saturday, November 7, 2015 presidential and parliamentary primaries.

He expressed disappointment in North Tongu constituency executives for rejecting 7,500 names from the BVR, and alleged that the move was a deliberate attempt to disenfranchise them to the advantage of one of the parliamentary candidates who they claimed was afraid of losing in the primaries come Saturday, November 7, 2015.

He said since the rejection of the biometric voters registration forms, the party has not known peace amidst tension whiles urging authorities to do everything to avert it.

He stated that now that many sections of the party have spoken and made their appeals, the party structures should take over and deal with these pressing issues that have been raised.

“Meetings of the National Executive Committee [NEC], the body charged with responsibility for directing the affairs of the party and, then, the National Council, the highest decision-making body of the party should be convened immediately to resolve the BVR membership problem we face," he added.

He expressed concerns that a large number of potential NDC voters were being denied their political rights, stressing that that was threatening the existence of the party in the constituency.

"There are a lot of discouraging comments with regard to the 2016 General Elections," he indicated.

He revealed that the aggrieved residents were also threatening not to have anything to do with NDC, if this golden opportunity of partaking for the first time in choosing their parliamentary and presidential candidates slipped by.

He explained that the affected polling stations had problems with their Electoral Commission (EC) voter ID cards which had invalid ID numbers.

According to him, such mistakes were corrected by EC with new cards issued but the electorate did not receive them before the NDC did the 2014 registration as such, their names did not appear on the NDC Biometric Register, despite the fact that they registered.