Coronavirus vs EC voters register: Stop tripping, focus! – Bawah Mogtari

Special Aide to Former President John Dramani Mahama, Joyce Bawah Mogtari has added her voice to the ongoing discussions on the compilation of a new Voters' Register in the face of a deadly enemy; the Coronavirus.

Ghana currently has some 641 cases of the coronavirus with 83 recoveries and 8 deaths.

In view of this, Joyce Bawah Mogtari took to social media to air her views.

Focus, she says, should be on the fight against the novel Coronavirus pandemic and rising questions and concerns about a possible total lockdown amidst rising numbers of confirmed cases, rather than issues regarding the compilation of a new voters' register by the Electoral Commission ahead of the December polls.

“Talk about the EC’s new voters register vis-à-vis the fight against Coronavirus! Can we focus on beating the novel Coronavirus pandemic, to lockdown the entire country or not, that is the question. #stayhome”.

Her comments come on the back of talks about the EC’s compilation amidst the coronavirus.

The EC had scheduled April 18 as the date for the registration of the new voters' register but due to the fight against the novel coronavirus, partial lockdown in Greater Accra and Greater Kumasi and the president's order banning social gatherings, the EC has suspended the registration until further notice.

Last month the Electoral Commission of Ghana was compelled to withdraw a Constitutional Instrument (CI) it laid before parliament.

The CI which was expected to give legal backing to the commission to compile a new register had defects which were highlighted at a meeting between the EC and the Subsidiary Legislation Committee of Parliament on Thursday.

Consequently, the commission was compelled to withdraw the CI and lay a new one.

Questions have since emerged about the upcoming December polls and the likelihood of its happening There are also concerns about the legalities involved as far as leadership of the country beyond 2020 without an election is.

Talk about the EC’s new voters register vis-a-vis the fight against Coronavirus!
Can we focus on beating the novel Coronavirus pandemic,to lockdown the entire country or not, that is the question#stayathome

— Joyce Bawah Mogtari (@joyce_bawah) April 16, 2020

Meanwhile, former President of the Ghana Bar Association, Sam Okudzeto has been lambasted following his suggestions that a new voter’s register can be compiled in regions which are not under the lockdown.

While speaking in an interview on Citi FM’ Eyewitness News, Sam Okudzeto said,

“Just thinking out loud to say that perhaps, the coronavirus ours is not as dramatic as is happening in many of the Western countries…which means that we only have few pockets of the two big municipalities and few regions…So it’s a question of the Ministry of Health, the Electoral Commission, attorney general all them trying to put their heads together. In my view, since the lockdown is not the whole country, they should start the registration in the areas where there is no lockdown and that would have covered large chunk of the country.”

According to him, regardless of how dangerous this may be, it would be in the best interest of the country rather than an individual.

Some groups including the Dynamic Youth Movement of Ghana and individuals including legal Practitioner, Lawyer Akoto Ampaw and NDC General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, have since condemned his statements, arguing that it will pose more danger for the country than there currently is already.