Jean Mensa lied to Archbishop Duncan Williams, others - Sammy Gyamfi

National Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Sammy Gyamfi has descended heavily on the Chair of the Electoral Commission, Ghana (EC), saying Jean Mensa lied to eminent Ghanaians including Archbishop Nicolas Duncan Williams of the Action Chapel International Ministry over the required documents for the compilation of a new voters’ register.

Sammy Gyamfi said Mrs Mensa told the Eminent Advisory Committee (EAC) at a stakeholders’ consultation meeting that the Commission will admit documents such as the existing voters’ ID card in compiling the register for the December 7 polls.

But he says the Commission has since restricted the required documents to passports and the National Identification Authority (NIA) cards, a departure from what she told the eminent Ghanaians.

“You lied to all these pastors and said you are going to admit all these documents,” Sammy Gyamfi stated on The Key Points on TV3/3FM on Saturday, May 16.

He said he finds it difficult to understand why the EC does not want to accept the most used ID card in the country for the registration purposes.

The only motive behind that, he imputes to this as he stated on the programme, is to rig the elections for the current president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Last Thursday, the National Chairman of the NDC, Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, accused the NIA and the EC of colluding to ensure the re-election of the President.

Despite the two bodies rejecting the allegations outright, Sammy Gyamfi maintained that that motive is behind the EC’s resolve to compile a new register despite loud protestations.

He told host Abena Tabi that about 10 million Ghanaians risk being disenfranchised as a result of the exclusion of the existing voters’ ID from registration as only a fraction of the population possess either a passport or a Ghana card.

He stated how the Prof Ken Attafuah-led NIA has undertaken a shoddy work in NDC’s strongholds including the Upper West and Volta regions, just to prevent many of the opposition party’s sympathisers from getting a Ghana card.

He insists that the current register is credible and fit to be used for the December 7 polls and that the EC will not have its way out

“We will stop them,” he warned.