EC is being 'unfair' - CDD

The posturing of the Electoral Commission in connection with the disqualification of some flag bearers does “not help” matters as far as the 7 December polls are concerned, Dr Kojo Asante, a Research Fellow with the Centre for Democratic Development has told Naa Dedei Tettey of Class News.

The CDD, in a statement, said news of the EC’s claim that it had discovered new errors on the nomination forms of some of the disqualified flag bearers following a ruling by the Supreme Court that they should all be allowed to correct those mistakes and be allowed back into the race, was troubling.

The flag bearer of the People’s National Convention (PNC), Dr Edward Mahama needed to correct 303 errors on his nomination forms if was to find his face on the ballot paper for this year’s presidential race.

Dr Mahama, who was disqualified over four mistakes was confronted with 299 more.

Meanwhile, 33 new “irregularities” were detected on the presidential nomination forms of the National Democratic Party’s flag bearer Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings.

The Electoral Commission described those errors as “concerns and discrepancies” which the former First Lady needed to correct before the Tuesday, 5pm deadline if she should qualify to run in this year’s presidential race.

Ninety-three more errors were detected on the forms of Mr Hassan Ayariga, flag bearer of the All People’s Congress.

But the CDD said: “The Centre is dismayed by the news that the EC at this late stage in the electoral process claims it has discovered new errors on the nomination forms of the disqualified presidential aspirants. The EC, as the news indicates, is, therefore, asking the aspirants to correct the new errors, in addition to the earlier ones within the stipulated time period.”

“The Centre finds this new twist to the processing of nomination forms of presidential aspirants deeply troubling, especially because it was the EC that took the matter to the Supreme Court, ostensibly to bring finality to the many suits at the courts challenging its decision to disqualify a number of presidential aspirants.”

In Dr Asante’s view, the CDD has been “unfair” to the disqualified aspirants.