General News of Thursday, 24 September 2020

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

Peace Council can't help with voter registration challenges - Asiedu Nketia

General Secretary of NDC, Asiedu Nketia General Secretary of NDC, Asiedu Nketia

Asiedu Nketia, the General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress says the party does not trust the National Peace Council to effectively deal with electoral disputes in the country.

The use of the NPC has been mooted by certain people following repeated stand-offs between the NDC and the Electoral Commission.

From the composition to the verification of the new voters register, the NDC has made allegations of rigging plots against the Jean Mensa-led commission.

The party has accused the EC of colluding with the governing party to suppress votes.

Earlier this week, the flagbearer of the party, John Dramani suspended his tour of the Bono Region to address the nation on anomalies from the exhibition exercise.

When asked if the party will seek the intervention of the NPC in the case, Asiedu Nketia said that if the council was proactive, they would have reached out to the party.

He noted the NPC does not have a reputation of settling misunderstandings so it will be unwise for the party to resort to them. “They themselves are aware of the problem so they should be calling us… We don’t think that solutions to this problem lie with the Peace Council,” Mr. Nketia remarked.

“They have followed this process. We have given them all our issues relating to the preparations towards this election. From day one to date we have not found any single solution from that platform,” he recounted.

“We presume that the printing of the cards on our blindside was done with the advice of the committee of eminent persons so they [the Peace Council] have excluded themselves from the opinion leaders who we should be consulting for solutions because they are part of the problem.”

Asiedu Nketia was speaking to journalists at a press conference held by the party on the ongoing voters exhibition exercise.

Asiedu Nketia alleged that the EC committed an act of illegality by distributing voters identification cards without the consent of the political parties.