Juaboso's member of parliament, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has launched a harsh attack on the Electoral Commission (EC), claiming that it threatens Ghana's democracy and could cause electoral instability.
Speaking to the media in Juaboso on Tuesday, November 19, 2024, Mr. Akandoh asserted that the EC is now functioning as an extension of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) campaign apparatus, having renounced its constitutional responsibility of neutrality.
Following the abrupt removal of the Juaboso District Electoral Officer and the purported recruitment of party members as EC polling officers only one month prior to the polls, he made these claims.
The Juaboso MP further claims that the EC gathered party members at the district office and demanded that polling officer photos be published.
Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, the constituency's Member of Parliament, claimed in a brief media appearance at Juaboso that the District Electoral Officer's replacement by an appointee connected to the Deputy Chairperson of the EC, Dr. Eric Bossman Asare, was a part of a larger plot to rig the elections in the NPP's favor.
He asserted that some of the recently hired poll workers openly support Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the NPP's presidential candidate, and the party's parliamentary candidate for Juaboso, demonstrating their partisanship.
A number of infractions of Constitutional Instrument 127 (C.I. 127), which regulates election behavior, were brought to light by the member of parliament.
At least ten days prior to the election, district offices are required under Regulation 19(6) (a&b) to publish the names and photos of presiding officers and polling assistants and distribute them to political parties.
However, Mr.Akandoh noted that the EC’s published list for Juaboso lacks the required photographs of polling officers and the 159 officers on the list do not have telephone numbers, while some numbers are duplicated, raising questions about the authenticity of the data.
Akandoh has formally petitioned the District Electoral Commission to take urgent action in order to address these issues. "No amount of rigging, no number of planted polling offices, and no manipulation by the EC can save them from the inevitable defeat that awaits them," Akandoh said during his news conference speech.
Additionally, he insisted that the EC take the necessary action and release the polling officers' information as specified in the Constitutional Instrument (CI). "The Ghanaian people are prepared to give a decisive verdict at the polls because they have had enough. One is the release of an updated list of poll workers that complies with CI-127 and includes photos. He called for the immediate dismissal of NPP poll workers who are overtly political and whose connections jeopardize their objectivity.
Source: Onuaonline.com
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