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Opinions of Tuesday, 12 April 2016

Columnist: Klinsman, Robbie Sarkodie

Trust Charlotte Osei at your own peril, NPP!

Charlotte Osei's recalcitrant exterior is being given an impetus by the lackadaisical attitude of the opposition parties, chiefly, the New Patriotic Party. The sort of consistency needed to force this Nigerian import of an EC Chairperson fled away from the leaders of the party for reasons I am struggling to come to terms with. Is it not surprising that the insistence on the EC to compile a new voters register by the NPP has been thrown outside the window, when the evidences supporting the need for a fresh register are still resiliently strong?

Many people believed and still hold on to the belief that Ghana's electoral register is fraught with a great number of irredeemable errors, and is therefore unfit for use in the upcoming polls. To this end, many groups resoundly protested against any attempt to use the existing register.
The NPP as a political entity waded into the issue with thought-provoking facts, an event which compelled the Electoral Commission to call for a public forum to deliberate further on the issues. It did not come to many of us as shocking when Charlotte Osei's sidestepped the compelling evidences supporting the calls for a new and credible voters register, and ruled that the electoral body would not kowtow to any form of pressure to compile a new register for the 2016 polls. Charlotte Osei, it is evidently clear is in charge of the EC with the sole aim of ensuring that John Mahama and his NDC retain power by any foul means. The NPP should not have relented in its fight to see the right thing done.

The resultant effect of the Justice V.C.R.A.C Crabbe committee was to have a comprehensive validation exercise conducted to rid the register of foreigners seems to be the chorus the NPP is singing now. This is unbelievably incredulous! Charlotte Osei will not do any validation exercise, and if in the unlikely event that she even does it, it would not be enough to clean our electoral register.

The NPP should use the next and best alternative! A new register is what we need! It is far more credible than this validation they talk about! The NPP leadership should stop folding their arms and get to work! A new and credible register for elections 2016 or no elections, and that is what the party should focus it's attention on!

Robbie Sarkodie Klinsman
North London
0044 79 85 39 58 39.