NPP urges opposition to be extra-vigilant

Mr. Alfred Ofori Annye, Brong-Ahafo Regional Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has called on opposition parties to be extra vigilant and guard against rigging during the December polls, as the new biometric voters registration exercise is not the panacea for electoral fraud.

He made the call in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Sunyani on Tuesday.

The NPP regional secretary observed that the Electoral Commission (EC) encountered a number of challenges in the just ended pilot exercises of the new system in the region, an indication that the system was not entirely reliable.

Mr. Annye expressed concern that public education about the new system was “very poor” since it had not gone down well with majority of the electorate in the rural areas.

He cautioned members and sympathizers of the NPP against over-reliance on the system and complacency, which he said led to the defeat of the party in the 2008 general election.

“Vigilance must be our watch word while commitment and loyalty to the course of the NPP should be the order of the day”, he stressed.

Mr. Annye appealed to the EC to work hard to find lasting solutions to the problems it encountered in the pilot biometric registration exercises, saying “all political parties rely on the EC for transparency and fairness to prevail in the upcoming elections”. **