EC must declare total number registered – LMVC

The Let My Vote Count Alliance (LMVC) is putting pressure on the Electoral Commission to as a matter of urgency “make full disclosure to the general public, the total number of Ghanaians registered” under the botched continuous voter registration exercise.

The EC put on hold the continuous registration of voters “pending a thorough discussion of the matter with IPAC” after the LMVC and other political parties flagged it as illegal.

The LMVC commended the electoral body for heeding their call, but wants the body to make full disclosure on the exercise.

“We are glad with the response of the electoral commission to our call and that of all the political parties to suspend the continuous registration exercise it decided to embark on. That was the most appropriate thing to do. That exercise was nothing short of an illegality,” the convener of the Alliance David Asante said in a statement.

“While congratulating all the parties and bodies that rose to speak against the EC’s handling of the process, the LMVC is going further to demand that the commission publishes details and outcome of the few days of registration that took place albeit through that window of illegality. We are aware that most places could not even receive registration materials and the public’s awareness of the exercise was abysmal.

“The electoral commission’s decision in springing up such unpleasant surprise of an illegality can only be described as a deliberate attempt to pad up numbers to the already bloated and discredited electoral register.

“The let my vote count alliance is calling on the Electoral Commission to with the same degree of urgency make full disclosure to the general public, the total number of Ghanaians registered under the exercise. The breach of CI 72, the legal regime for the continuous registration exercise is a matter of great concern to all Ghanaians,” he stated.

He added: “The acceptability of elections result of 2016 and future largely depends on the conduct of the commission. In the light of the above, we wish to put on record that the performance of the Electoral commission of Ghana in recent times has not only been unsatisfactory but highly unacceptable and volatile for our democratic forward match.

“The decision to call for an IPAC meeting to address the issue after suspending the exercise at this point is not just enough, Ghanaians want to know more. Is the Electoral commission working in cahoots with the NDC hoping to bloat the already highly discredited voters register to favor them?

“Is the commission really working independent of the executive and all major political parties?

“Increasingly, more and more Ghanaians are losing confidence in the ability of the EC as currently constituted. It calls for a radical reform of the culture of the institution, its management practices and the integrity of its leadership personnel. It is with this in mind that the whole nation is nervous about who takes over after Dr Afari Gyan and how acceptable will the process of appointing his replacement be.”