The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has accused the ruling New Patriotic Party of presenting minors for the voters’ registration to increase the number of people who participated in the registration this year.
The Eastern Regional Communications Officer of the party, Dallas Williams, in an interview with Kwame Afrifa Mensah on the ‘Epa Hoa Daben’ show claimed that the NPP orchestrated this move because the number of people who registered were fewer than those who did in 2016.
“In the midst of all intimidation, if you look at the number of registrants in 2016, it was above 1.6 million in the region. As I speak to you know, we are not even up to 1.6 and the NPP feels it is a defeat. So from three days ago, even minors are being registered.
This is what prompted one of our agents Richard Axim in New Juabeng who challenged the authorities that he will not allow minors to be registered. This made the soldiers come around and the police commander arrested the guy. It took the intervention of the regional executives to grant him bail”.
Dallas expressed his disgust at policemen who according to him, “have become tools in the hands of the NPP”. He noted that when the NDC comes to power it will only work with police officers who have integrity. “These errand police officers should know that the earlier they stop what they are doing the better or else when administration changes, we will have only those with integrity and they will deal with such people”, he added.
The total registered voters in 2016 was 16,845,439. The Electoral Commission has said it has registered a total of 16,663,669 (provisional figures) eligible Ghanaians in the 2020 mass registration exercise.
Providing clarity on the numbers at a press briefing on Friday, August 7, 2020, in Accra, Deputy Commissioner In-Charge of Corporate Services, Dr. Bossman Asare said the EC would have registered 20 million people had they[EC]maintained the old register and conducted the Limited Registration Exercise as compared to the current figure of 16.63 million, some 3 million difference.
