EC hands over 3 for double registration

Officials of the Tema Metropolitan Office of the Electoral Commission (EC) last Friday handed over three persons who attempted to do double registration to the police for investigations.

The three, Enoch Tetteh (44), Alfred Adu (35) and Josephine Ama Aboya (32), had their database displayed on the computer screens when their finger prints were being taken.

Adu, who had his picture and a different name and age in the system, according to the District Director for Kpone, Ms Doris Emefa Agbezulor, denied that the picture on the database was his.

The Greater Accra Regional Director of the EC, Mr Kwame Amoah, who confirmed the incident to the Daily Graphic, said the EC would make available previous information in its database on the three to the police to help them in investigations.

Registration

Scores of people from Tema East, West, Central and Kpone Katamanso last Friday and Saturday besieged the Tema office of the EC in the continuous voter registration exercise which was aimed at providing an opportunity for eligible voters to register and also get their information verified.

As of last Friday, over 350 eligible voters had been registered in all four constituencies in Tema.

According to Mr Amoah, the online network registration procedure makes it possible for the data of voters to be entered into the central database and for the identity cards of the registrants to be printed immediately.

Near fight

The smooth conduct of the exercise was, however, nearly marred when the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Tema East, Mr Daniel Titus-Glover, attempted to prevent some six people from registering on allegations that they were Burkinabe citizens.

The National Democratic Congress’s (NDC’s) parliamentary candidate for the area, Mr Kempes Ofosuware, said the six were said to be known supporters of the NDC.

The situation led to a fierce verbal exchange between the MP and Mr Ofosuware.

Their supporters, who also joined the dispute, threw invectives at one another. The police had to separate the feuding parties to prevent the argument from generating into a free for all.  

The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Nii Laryea Afotey Agbo, who also doubles as the MP for Kpone Katamanso, was at the centre to monitor proceedings, but he sat in his car and watched the two and their supporters in the contestation.

Challenge

While Mr Ofosuware was of the view that the MP ought to have rather used the legal means to challenge the nationality of the people, Mr Titus-Glover argued that the NDC members in the constituency were employing every possible means to snatch the seat from him.

He alleged that the NDC was trying to turn the elections into one which allow ECOWAS citizens to determine who rule  Ghana.

“Why should we sit here for people from other jurisdictions to determine the reign of leadership for us?” Mr Titus-Glover queried.

“Ghana is not for ECOWAS, and when you talk about them, the NDC thinks it is fetish, but we cannot allow Burkinabes to come and determine my fate for me. I know a lot of schemes the NDC has planned in this constituency and I will not sit down for them to snatch my seat from me using such  tactics,” Mr Titus-Glover added

Asked why he attempted to remove the people from the queue, leading to the confusion, when he could have picked up a challenge form from the EC to ensure their names were taken out, Mr Titus-Glover said he did that because he knew the individuals involved. “They reside behind my mother’s residence and they are known Burkina Faso citizens in the area. Kempes brought them because he is doing everything possible to be successful this time around,” he said.

“I would guard this seat jealously and whatever I would do within my power to retain the seat, I would do it,”  Mr Titus-Glover emphasised.

Mr Ofosuware, however, described the allegations as baseless, frivolous and without merit. 

According to him, the NPP has the penchant for labelling people of Ewe and Northern extraction as foreigners.

“How can you come to a queue and begin to pinpoint people that they are not Ghanaians? If you have any cause to suggest that they are not, should he not pick up a challenge form and use legitimate means to justify his protest as against the physical method approach he used?”  Mr Ofosuware queried.