EC, NDC appeals to Registration Officers to resume work

Accra, March 18, GNA - The Electoral Commission (EC) on Thursday appealed to striking Registration Officers in the Greater Accra Region to resume work immediately while the Commission tried to resolve the grievance over their allowance.

Ms Luarentia Kpatakpa, Greater Accra Regional Director of EC, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency urged the Officers to exercise restraint and in the national interest cooperate with the all stakeholders to ensure that the electoral timetable was not disrupted. The Greater Accra Regional Director was re-acting to a sit-down strike embarked upon by some Registration Officers within the Metropolis over their allowance, which they described as peanuts.

Meanwhile during a visit to some registration centres in the Korle Klottey and Ladzekuku Constituencies in Accra, Professor John Evans Atta Mills, Flag Bearer of National Democratic Congress (NDC) encountered some Registration Officers at the Kojo Sardine Old Trotro Station, who had embarked on a sit-down strike.

Mr Eric Nana Blankson, a Registration Officer, who was very vocal among his striking colleagues, demanded money from Professor Mills before agreeing to resume work after much talk.

Prof. Mills urged all Registration Officers to dialogue with the Commission instead of embarking on a sit-down strike, "the door for dialogue had not been exhausted... national democratic development depends largely on the ability of all eligible voters to register. "We must, therefore guide against any action that had the potential of jeopardizing the exercise."

Prof. Mills also appealed to the Commission to reconsider their allowances as the agitation was becoming unbearably dangerous for a smooth exercise that would lead to an accurate data compilation.