Pusiga District EC boss suspended over ‘illegal’ transfers of voters - Deputy EC Chairman

The Deputy Chairman of Operations of the Electoral Commission (EC), Samuel Tettey has disclosed that the Pusiga District Director of the commission has been suspended over the recent illegal transfers of voters without their notice.

According to him, the EC considers the district director as a prime suspect as there can be no voter transfer without the involvement of the District Director who is the senior official at the district level.

Mr. Tettey said a committee has been established by the EC to investigate how voters were transferred without the consent of the voters.

“If you want to transfer your vote from one place to the other, you have to go to the District office and have your biometrics taken and a new voter ID card given to you reflecting your new polling station. In the case of Pusiga, the voters were claiming that they did not get there, meanwhile, their names were in Pusiga constituency. So the commission has set up a committee, the first thing we did was that we suspended the District Officer,” the Deputy EC Chairman said while answering questions on the preparedness of the commission for the December elections at the 2nd Speaker’s Seminal Lecture held in Tamale on Saturday.

Mr. Tettey said a preliminary investigation by the commission has revealed that photographs on the Voter’s ID Cards of the affected voters were used to effect the transfer without the knowledge of the voters.

He assured that the EC would sack all its officials who were found to have been involved in the illegal transfers.

“What the commission realized was that, instead of they going to the center, they didn't, rather, the photographs were captured and that was what they used to effect the transfer. Someone collected those cards under the pretext of giving them loans. They managed to get the transfers done without going to the District office and they used the photographs. So we have suspended the officer and we are investigating [and] those who are involved will be sacked,” he said.

This year’s Speaker’s Seminal Lecture was on the theme “Working Together, Rebuilding Trust for Free, Fair, Credible and Peaceful Elections: The Role of Stakeholders” with Security Consultant, Professor Kwesi Aning and Senior Vice President of Imani Africa, Lawyer Kofi Bentil as the main speakers.

Both speakers have called for the need for the various election stakeholders to open up themselves to work with each other and be accommodative.

Mr Kofi Bentil, specifically singled out the Electoral Commission, describing it as being autocratic in recent years.

He urged the commission to consult more and listen to all stakeholders to ensure it organises a successful election.

Responding to this, Mr. Tettey said the EC’s doors were always open and it was “willing to meet stakeholders for useful recommendations”.

He assured that the commission will conduct the presidential and parliamentary elections in a way that will reflect the sovereign will of the people of Ghana.

2024 Elections not just an election to choose leaders but what we want Ghanaians to be - Speaker:

The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin underscored the importance of the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections, noting that it will define Ghana’s future.

He said that the December general elections will not just be about choosing leaders for the country but also how Ghanaians want the country to be in the near future.

“2024 elections are not just about choosing leaders but what we want Ghana to be,” Alban Bagbin said.

He therefore urged the Ghanaian electorate to choose leaders who can rebuild and positively change the development agenda of the country.

The Speaker of Parliament said every Ghanaian had the responsibility to ensure that the sanctity of the country’s democratic credentials is not dented before, during, and after the elections.

“We have the responsibility to ensure that election does not become a platform to defile the sanctity of our democratic credentials,” he added.

Alban Bagbin added “It is our collective responsibility to sustain the efforts and achievements made so far and to improve on it.”