....But Not Entirely Replaced With A New One.
My premise is that no country in the world has a perfect voters’ register, and obviously and certainly not Ghana, and we all know that. The NPP knows that, the NDC knows that, and CPP and all the other political parties know that as well. This is an objective observation and in no way partisan.
What is unfortunate with the NPP about the NPP stand is that, when this Bloated Voters’ register works for them, it is perfectly okay, but when it works for the NDC, it is outrageously not okay. Interestingly, this overly bloated voters register has worked for the NPP in 2002 and 2004 elections. As a matter of fact, according to NPP claims, this bloated register worked for them in the 1998, 2002, 2004 elections and even as lately as the 2012 elections, because they claimed that they won the 1998 and the 2012 elections without citing that it was bloated. They accepted, by their actions and claims that they won the 2012 elections and this meant that they accepted the voters’ register used for the 2012 elections as valid and fair. They rather went to court to prove that they won the elections, accepted the 2012 voters register as valid and fair, and only faulted the elections based on the “PINK SHEETS”. Dr. Bawumia then did a good job of citing the Pink sheets, but never for once, referred to a “bloated voters’ register. Had the judgment or verdict gone their way, the BLOATED VOTERS” REGISTER, would never have been a problem.
However, when the NPP were not declared, winners of the 2012 elections, they vowed, in all their patriotic wisdom to make “GHANA UNGOVERNABL”. They decided to tag President Mahamah INCOMPETENT even before he started to rule the country, and they have the likes of Rockson Adofo to disregard the facts and roots for them in their quest for a new voters’ register when they had previously accepted the 2012 voters register as valid and fair and went to court to use it as their basis for winning. It is only after they lost the court verdict when they decided to use the “bloated voters’ register as their argument. My point is, if they have identified 70,000 voters as foreigners, why don’t they advocate for the register to be cleaned by asking for the investigation of these voters to correctly identify their nationalities, and if found otherwise, drop their names from Ghana’s voters’ register? Ironically, though, the NPP selectively chose to cross-check Ghana’s voters’ register with that of Togo, a country that borders on the NDC’s stronghold, but intentionally failed or refused to crosscheck with those of Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso. If they had done that, I would not have any qualms questioning their intentions. Are they doing these to foment trouble as Rockson Adofo and others are insinuating. Are these the reasons why hordes of ammunition are coming into the country of late? Homeland Security needs to sit up and apprehend all the weapons coming into the country on the eve of the 2016 general Elections.
Rockson Adofo writes and uses the word “WE”, as if he speaks for all Ghanaians. I will remind him that not all Ghanaians think there should be a new voters’ register – there are others who think that the current voters’ register needs to be cleaned. Rockson Adofo writes and I quote:
“There should be many and persistent public demonstrations to insist on having a new credible voter's register for election 2016. It should not be the usual one-day-wonder types that make them believe that as long as the whirlwind will settle, they will not listen to anyone but will do as they have determined; exploit Ghana to the hilt by official corruption and blatant practice of tribalism. We should write repeatedly to our foreign partners or the country's international stakeholders, to intervene to get Ms Charlotte Osei and President Mahama and NDC see reason before they plunge the nation into chaos by their intransigence and propensity to defraud the nation and the people of Ghana at any least opportunity. This is my (Rockson Adofo’s take) take on the ridiculously obstinate attitude to the request for a credible new voter's register by Ms Charlotte Osei and her "create, loot and share" accomplices.”
Rockson Adofo must also remember that the NPP also dabbles in “CREATE, LOOT, and SHARE” which has, unfortunately become the bane of Ghanaian politics and this is what Ghanaians need to march for – corruption among our leaders who pillage the nation’s resources for their personal gains. Has Rockson forgotten the sale of government lands and bungalows among the elite of the NPP Government under Kufuor, the kickbacks at the Presidency under Kufour, the Kufuor hotel, the dubious sale of Ghana’s drill ship among many other acts of corruption? All Ghanaian politicians now see politics as a business and a sure way to get rich quick which has been played very well by both NDC and NPP. Who is Rockson Adofo to call Mrs. Charlotte Osei obstinate?
Dr. Kwasi Asamoah
