The Eastern Regional branch of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has challenged the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to prove their allegations that the NDC is housing large numbers of aliens and was transporting them to register in some communities.
The NDC said if the NPP had any evidence they should take the media to those places to take pictures and show it to the world.
The party alleged that the NPP was afraid that the biometric registration would expose their shameful past of double registration and wanted to make up excuses to cover those electoral frauds.
Mr Anthony Gyampoh, Eastern Regional Secretary of the NDC, was speaking at a press conference in Koforidua on Tuesday to react to allegations made by the NPP against the NDC.
He said the NPP knew the electoral fraud they perpetuated at those constituencies in previous years, which would be difficult for them to repeat this time round, hence their resort to “crying wolf”.
“Secondly they want to make up excuses why they will lose those seats”
Mr Gyampoh noted that the political and developmental dynamics in constituencies like Abetifi, Abuakwa North, Ayensuano, Lower West Akyem, Akyemmansa, Abirem and New Juaben North had all changed and was now favourable to the NDC.
He said the NDC believed that, the mere reference to those areas which have large Zongo communities, was a calculated attempt by the NPP to frustrate “our Zongo brothers from exercising their franchise”.
Mr Gyampoh indicated that the NPP had now regretted making much noise about the Biometric registration and would want to find ways of running away from it but it was too late.
“They know that there is no way they can win elections in the Region if every voter is going to vote once”.
“We said Eastern would change in 2008 and there was a relative change. The NPP votes in the region dropped by about five percent (Kuffour-63 percent-Nana Addo-58 percent)”.
Mr Gyampoh said the NDC was declaring an absolute change in 2012 and the unprecedented developments made by President John Evans Atta Mills and his Municipal and District Chief Executives shall be rewarded by the electorate in the area.
He indicated that the leadership of the NPP did not prepare for the registration exercise, which was evident in the behaviour of some of their agents.
Mr Gyampoh cited an instance where one of the NDC agents at a registration centre at Hweehwee in the Abetifi Constituency was physically assaulted by NPP activists for daring to pick a challenge form against a minor applicant.
He appealed to the Electoral Commission (EC), to resolve the issue where people with National Health Insurance Cards were being denied the chance to register and the case of students from St Paul’s Senior High School (SHS) being prevented from registering by NPP sympathizers.
He urged the NPP to recall their agents and train them on the regulations guiding the conduct of the exercise.**
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