Akufo-Addo commends EC for successful mass voter registration exercise

Enoch Darfah Frimpong Politics Aug - 16 - 2020 , 20:08 3 minutes read

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has commended the Electoral Commission for the successful conduct of the mass voter registration exercise.

In a national address Sunday night, President Akufo-Addo said it was worth commending the commission for the success of the exercise despite the coronavirus disease challenge.

"We will continue to work hard to prove naysayers wrong," President Akufo-Addo said.

“On behalf of the people of Ghana, I congratulate warmly the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Mrs Jean Mensa, her two Deputies, Dr Eric Asare Bossman and Mr Samuel Tettey and the entire Commission for the efficient, safe, transparent nature of the registration exercise, where, for the first time in our nation’s history, Ghanaians were provided with daily updates of the numbers of eligible voters registered, together with specific age, gender, regional breakdowns and breakdowns of identity documents.
“Of course, there were genuine and understandable concerns about conducting such a complex exercise, involving millions of citizens, at this time.
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But, at the end of the day, Ghanaians did their civic duty, by going out to register, having found that the process was overwhelmingly orderly, peaceful and safe.
“However, there were those who expressed various degrees of hysteria and negativity towards the exercise, with some, who swore heaven and earth to resist the compilation of the register at the peril of their lives, ending up registering.
“There were also those who offered delicate, personal sacrifices in the event of the register, again, ending up registering.
And there were those who claimed that, in the midst of a pandemic, the registration exercise should not be conducted, with some warning of an “explosion” in our case count and very high numbers of deaths, should the exercise go ahead.
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By the grace of God, the work of the Electoral Commission, and the effective measures put in place by government, these prophecies of doom did not materialize. There were, nonetheless, deeply regrettable, isolated incidents of violence, which I condemn unreservedly, and which I expect the Police to deal with without fear or favour, but the exercise was generally peaceful.
The Ghanaian people have, by the conduct of this exercise, demonstrated our commitment once again, to consolidating our status as a beacon of democracy on the continent and in the world.
The professional Jeremiahs and naysayers, who seek, cynically, to make a profitable industry out of spreading falsehoods, fear and panic, stoking divisive, ethnic sentiments, underestimate the resolve and the determination of Ghanaians to build a united, democratic, peaceful, prosperous and happy Ghana. We will continue to work hard to prove them wrong."