Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu Constituency, has accused the Electoral Commission (EC) chairperson, Jean Mensa, of lacking credibility and integrity.
His views are in connection with the controversy surrounding the EC’s decision to conduct limited voter registration only at its district offices.
Speaking in an interview on TV XYZ on September 19,2023, Ablakwa called on Jean Mensa to provide evidence to support her claim that Parliament failed to approve the EC's budget for the ongoing exercise.
The lawmaker challenged the EC chair to produce documents supporting her assertion that the EC's budget request for a wider registration scope was rejected by Parliament.
"First of all, Ghana's Electoral Commissioner Jean Mensah doesn't have credibility, she is not a woman of integrity, and she doesn't speak the truth...
"I challenge her to produce evidence of documents that she took to the Parliament of which she claimed that she wanted to do the registration at all polling stations, and Members of Parliament rejected the offer."
The ongoing voter registration exercise has faced significant backlash from opposition parties and the public due to the EC's decision to register eligible voters exclusively at its district offices.
Five political parties, led by the National Democratic Congress (NDC), have already taken legal action against the EC, demanding that the exercise be extended to electoral areas, arguing that the limited registration centers could potentially disenfranchise many eligible voters.
Jean Mensa, the EC Chairperson, in addressing the criticism, cited the failure of Parliament to pass a new Constitutional Instrument (C.I) as a key reason for the limited registration's implementation.
She explained that the Commission had initially planned for continuous registration at all district offices nationwide but could not proceed due to the absence of the necessary legislation.
“As you are all aware, the Commission prepared a draft C.I for continuous registration in all district offices nationwide. This initiative started last year and the registration we were envisioning under the draft C.I was for a sustained long-term basis.
“Indeed, had the C.I been passed we would have had some six months this year to register voters at any time of their choice. Our 2023 budget and work plan were prepared along those lines.
"Our 2023 work-plan and budget were based on a continuous registration of voters in our district offices nationwide, we did not factor electoral area registration in our 2023 work plan and budget,” she explained at a press conference earlier this week.
AM/SARA
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