Amoako Tuffour cautions EC over polls

A stalwart of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Kwame Amoako-Tuffour, has warned that any attempt by the Electoral Commission (EC) to manipulate the system to the advantage of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) will be met with strong resistance by the opposition party.

He said so far, key decisions taken by the Commission are inuring to the benefit of President John Mahama and his NDC instead of the collective interest of the country; and regretted that the EC was setting what he called “dangerous precedence in the current democratic dispensation.”

Dr. Amoako-Tuffour told DAILY GUIDE exclusively yesterday that it was time for the Peace Council and others advocating for peaceful elections in November to counsel the EC to supervise a fair and transparent process or remain silent when it becomes obvious that everybody is being shortchanged in November.

“Their voices and expectations about the commission should be publicly pronounced for the public to appreciate that there are groups in this country that would not allow the commission to shortchange Ghanaians just to ensure a second term for somebody,” Dr Amoako Tuffour charged.

Voters Abroad

According to the NPP strongman, the EC must not wait until after the elections before it explains to the public the modalities for the votes coming from Ghanaians abroad, which include diplomatic staff, security persons on peace missions, students on Ghana government scholarships and Ghanaians serving with international bodies.

“It should not be difficult for the EC to give us eligible voters in the Diaspora and if they do not do it now, individuals and lawyers should take the commission to court to demand of them what is their right,” he insisted.

“We all saw how Dr. Afari-Gyan used different figures in the declaration of the 2012 presidential results and when the NPP’s petitioners demanded to know what accounted for the difference of about 241,524 votes, they claimed that it was those votes from abroad; but when they were asked to submit the list, the commission could bring only 705 to court. We should never allow this situation to happen again,” he warned.

. Dr. Amoako-Tuffour said that the NPP was getting signals that some top EC officials had been travelling outside the country to engage the NDC on how to maximise the Diaspora votes to the benefit of President Mahama and said, “The path the commission is taking will not bring the transparency we all want.”

Special Voting

He said measures towards special voting – which allows members of the security agencies, media and others who play critical roles on election day, to vote ahead of time – should be strengthened because “the public is losing faith in the authenticity of the ballot boxes presented.”

He said it was unthinkable for the NDC to turn themselves into spokespersons for the EC when the commission has competent people to speak for it.

“Look at how Koku Anyidoho and his ilk are attacking the Supreme Court judges for issuing a simple order to the commission,” Dr Amoako Tuffour observed.

He called on Ghanaians to help resist any attempt to rig the November elections.

“The NDC is punishing the public through their unbridled greed. Look at the sectors they are spending money just to create an impression. I don’t think Ghana deserves the NDC’s incompetence and corruption, and the EC should not work to foist them on Ghanaians,” he fumed.