General Secretary of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has begged to differ on the assumption made by Center for Ethical Governance and Administration (CEGA) that the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country should cause the Electoral Commission (EC) to postpone the new registration scheduled for 18th April 2020.
CEGA has called on the EC to suspend the compilation of a new Voters Register in the wake of the Coronavirus scourge.
In a statement dated Monday, 16th March 2020, the CEGA said it has received information that: “some of the vendors and equipment contracted by the Electoral Commission are coming from Europe . . . in this regard the Electoral Commission is being called upon not to take any steps that will jeopardize the life of any single Ghanaian in the pursuit of their entrenched position in re-registering Ghanaians into the new but needless Voters Register.”
The Centre also noted that “some Ghanaians living outside Ghana would have preferred travelling to their various polling stations in Ghana to be registered” but with the “current pandemic nature of the Coronavirus infections, almost all flights have been cancelled denying these Ghanaians the opportunity to register and fulfill their civic responsibility of voting".
Reacting to the statement on Okay FM’s 'Ade Akye Abia' Morning Show, General Mosquito as affectionately called said the coronavirus which just hit the country four (4) days ago should not be the reason for the EC to suspend the new registration.
“I don’t believe that coronavirus will be enough reason to postpone the new voter’s registration on 18th April, 2020. When the EC fixed the date on 18th April 2020, I came out to say that it is not possible to compile a new registration for the 2020 general election, and so if the EC wants an excuse to postpone the new registration, they should not use coronavirus,” he stated.
“ . . Coronavirus cannot be the reason why . . . if the EC is being truthful to us and they have not already procured and bought the new machines for the new registration but they are now going to procure and buy the machines for the registration, then it is not possible that within those timelines we will be able to have the new machines in the country to conduct a registration,” he stressed.
He, however, pointed out that even if the Electoral Commission (EC) should insist that it is ready to go ahead with the registration on the said date, the current situation will not be conducive for the exercise as the President has issued directives against mass public gatherings.
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