Arrest Bawumia for peddling falsehood on electoral register - NDC (audio)
The ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) has called on the Ghana Police Service to invite for questioning, the running mate of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Mahamudu Bawumia for peddling what they termed “falsehood about Ghana’s voter’s register.”
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At a press conference in Accra Wednesday morning, the General Secretary of the NDC, Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia, said Dr Bawumia ought to be invited and investigated by the security agencies.
This according to Mr Nketia was because, the Electoral Commission’s preliminary report on the calls for a new voters register suggests that Dr Bawumia “peddled falsehood” that has the potential to destabilize the nation. [Download pdf of address]
The opposition party through Dr Bawumia presented some documents to the EC to support their claims that Ghana’s electoral register contained names of some 76,000 foreigners and therefore should not be used for the 2016 general elections.
The EC, last week after a five-member panel consideration of the claims and other stakeholder submissions, concluded that the NPP’s argument was not convincing and therefore formed no basis for changing the current register.
Listen to Mr Asiedu Nketia's argument in the audio attached below
{mp3}arrest_bawumia_for_peddling_falsehold_ndc{/mp3}
Speaking at Wednesday’s press conference, Mr Asiedu Nketia said: “I’m not a lawyer but I have heard people say that if you falsify public document with the intention of deceiving people, our laws should find a way of dealing with you.
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“In the Supreme Court, they printed fake pink sheets and tendered them in … and the Supreme Court just rejected them, nothing has happened after that.
“And then they come to deceive the Electoral Commission again by printing fake Togolese register, pick peoples pictures on the register and present them as Togolese and presented some documentation and writing French on those things and claiming it is Togolese register. Why can a Phd who wants to be a Vice President, how can you sink that low,’ Mr Nketia questioned.
He argued that if Dr Bawumia presented “false” evidence to a constitutional body like the Supreme Court or like the Electoral Commission, “he shouldn’t be left off the hook like that. So that is my position, I’m not a lawyer. But even if there are no laws, going forward, Parliament should be looking into such things and finding remedies.”
The NPP after the EC’s report has insisted that the Electoral Commission just glossed over their arguments and that the register indeed contains the names of foreigners.
The NPP plans to officially respond to the EC’s conclusions and the NDC's claims.
Writer's email: enoch.frimpong@graphic.com.gh
