'You're very incompetent' – Chris Dugan blasts EC boss over delays during limited registration

A member of the communications team of the NDC, Chris Dugan, has accused the Electoral Commission (EC) of deliberately delaying the voter registration exercise in the strongholds of the opposition party.

The electoral management body commenced its final limited voter registration on Tuesday, May 7, 2024.

The EC admitted some challenges that delayed the process and generated long queues at some registration centers.

At a polling unit in Ashaiman, for instance, XYZ reporter Albert Cheetam reported that only three voter ID cards had been printed by mid-day due to network challenges. In the polling unit at the Weija-Gbawe constituency, no person had been registered by 1 pm due to technical challenges.

Reports from Sefwi Wiawso, Kasoa, Kpassa, and Upper East indicated that the processes had halted because of network challenges.

Registration for first-time voters could not begin at the former head office of the Electoral Commission (EC) in North Accra until after mid-day. The delay, just like in other parts of the country, was attributed to technical difficulties.

The NDC communicator, speaking on the Inside Politics program on TV XYZ, intimated that the delay was orchestrated by the Jean Mensa-led EC in some strongholds of the NDC just to discourage eligible persons from taking part in the exercise.

Chris Dugan told host Mugabe Maase in Akan, "The EC deliberately stifled the process to discourage our people from registering for their cards."

According to him, some bigwigs from the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) had collaborated with the EC to cause these challenges, while the exercise was fairly successful in their strongholds.

"How do you begin such a crucial exercise without checking the efficiency of your machines?" he quizzed and added that the EC Boss, Jean Mensa, has always created confusion in any election-related activity she has handled due to her incompetence.

"This Electoral Commission believes they will decide who will lead the country...This is a machinery they are using to rig the elections. But Bawumia, whom they want to rig the elections for, cannot be a president," he stressed.

The limited registration for first-time voters would take place from May 7th, until May 27th, 2024. Replacement of lost ID cards will take place on May 30th.