NGM urges EC to be forthright with electoral timetable

Accra, Sept. 02, GNA - The New Ghanaian Movement, a political think-tank, on Tuesday urged the Electoral Commission (EC) to be forthright with the electoral timetable to repose confidence in preparation towards Election 2008.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra, Ms Ayishetu Addy, NGM Deputy General Secretary, said the indefinite postponement of the filling of nominations by the various political parties by the EC needs critical examination.

"EC must tell Ghanaians the truth about any operational difficulties they are encountering this year. The excuse that the voter registration exercise, which was held throughout the country in August instead of May, has thrown the calendar of the EC out of gear is unacceptable," Ms Addy stated.

Mr. Kwadwo Sarfo-Kantanka, EC Deputy Chairman in Charge of Operations, was quoted to have stated that the filing of nominations by the various political parties which was originally fixed for September 29 has to be re-scheduled due to operational challenges. The EC explained that the exercise could not be carried out until the EC had compiled a new voter's register, cleaned and exhibited it. It has assured the political parties that the new date would be announced after the exhibition of the provisional voters' register. "We have not fixed a date yet because we have not compiled and exhibited the register and as of now, I cannot say when the exercise would be carried out," the EC Deputy Chairman stated. Ms Addy said the EC could not hide under the law which required the commission to receive nominations "not more than 90 days to the day of elections and not less than 30 days to the date".

She noted that EC on its own estimation fixed September 29, instead of the October 21-22 used for Election 2004. "Was the September date fixed due to lessons learnt from the Election 2004.how can EC make up for the time lost due to late opening of the voters' registration?"

The NGM reminded the EC of its reputation as one of the best electoral administrative bodies internationally and appealed to the Chairman of the Commission to be transparent with any possible operational challenges.

Ms. Addy urged the EC to come out with a comprehensive electoral procurement list of thumbprint pads, seals, scanners, indelible inks, ballot papers, voting screens, endorsing ink and other electoral materials needed for Election 2008.

"Ghanaians also need to know the electoral timetable on exhibition of the provisional voters' register, the authentication of the register, selection and appointment of returning officers, recruitment, selection and temporary staff."

She noted that EC delayed the voter registration exercise and "we are the best judges as to the success of the exercise. We must avoid the registration infractions at the December polls." The NGM also called on EC Commissioners, Directors and officials to be circumspect in their pronouncement and suppress their political affiliations and sympathies in private and in public. "As electoral administrators, your neutrality must not be in doubt," Ms Addy stated.

She also urged government, as a major stakeholder, to provide enough funds to train and resource the EC to discharge its duty effectively and efficiently and avoid temptation of interfering in the commission's operation.

The NGM called on government to create a level playing field for all the political parties and stop the abuse of incumbency to ensure peaceful election.

In a related development, the NGM has condemned the recent Tamale political violence involving the ruling New Patriotic Party and National Democratic Congress activists leading to destruction of property. The NGM urged the National Enforcement Body of the Election 2008 Code of Conduct for Political Parties to immediately institute an independent investigation into the incident.

It also appealed to leadership of the two political parties to accept responsibility for the behaviour of their supporters in their pursuit to satisfy them and stop the blame game.

"The mark of true leadership is acceptance of responsibilities of one's followers and instituting measures to correct the infraction but the continuous denial and resort to blame game is tacit endorsement and encouragement of their supporters," the NGM stated. 2

NPP hopes of winning six seats in Volta is a mirage

Ho, Sept. 2, GNA - Mr Francis Ganyaglo, Volta Regional Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Tuesday dismissed as a "mirage", the hopes of the ruling New Patriotic Party's (NPP) of winning at least six constituencies in the region in the December elections.

"It is a rumble in a cloudless sky that would produce no precipitation," he told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview. The prediction by NPP was at the launch of its 19-member regional campaign monitoring team last Thursday, to kick-start serious organisation in the region, which appears to be without much political activity.

Mr Ganyaglo recalled similar predictions by NPP in the run-up to the 2004 elections in which it won only one seat out of 22 in the region.

"That seat - Nkwanta-North Constituency we, would take back because we have identified and rectified shortcomings that led to that defeat," he assured all supporters.

Regarding impressions that not much campaigning was going on in the region, Mr Ganyaglo explained that the NDC strategy had changed and somewhat less visible now.

"What we are doing now is retail campaigning, where activists move from location to location," he said, adding that the big rallies that were now missing would be organised later. He said the thrust of the NDC message was investing in the people, ensuring human rights, improving the economy, stopping selective justice and ensuring security for all.

Mr Ganyaglo said preparations were underway to hold primaries in the Ho-Central, Keta, and Ave-Avenor constituencies to make NDC fully battle ready.

An Electoral Commission's publication about the region said in 2004 the NDC got 83.8 per cent votes in the presidential balloting, won 21 seats, while NPP had 14.3 per cent of the votes and a single parliamentary seat.

It was difficult to verify the state of preparedness of the Convention People's Party (CPP) in the region as their offices were closed when the Ghana News Agency visited last Friday.

The CPP in the Volta Region is bogged down by leadership crises. When contacted, Mr Manfred Nuku-Dei, Volta Regional Secretary of the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) said the party was now holding its primaries, after which it would come out fully to campaign for votes.