Thousands of NDC faithful press demand for voters register audit
The Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, has affirmed the party's resolve to fight until the concerns over discrepancies in the voters register are addressed,
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Addressing a teeming crowd at the Obra Spot at the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange in Accra ahead of a nationwide demonstration, he stated that the insistence of the Electoral Commission (EC) not to heed its request for auditing the 2024 voters register for the 2024 general election was a threat to the country's democracy, and could degenerate into war.
"We must not let our future generations die. What we are doing is to prevent war in this country. If you want to prevent war, you fight to remove everything that has the tendency to generate into war,” he said to cheers from the hundreds of people who were mostly adorned in red and black, with some of them in NDC paraphernalia and T-Shirts, reports Pacome Emmanuel Damalie.
"There is no option. There is no sitting on the fence. Instead of waiting for war to break out for you to be conscripted to go and fight and die, fight now against the elements that are generating it in the country. We are ready to fight," he said.
Issues
The NDC demonstration against the EC, dubbed "Enough is Enough", took place simultaneously in all 16 regional capitals across the country.
It stems from the discrepancies detected in the recent voters register during the exhibition, and a subsequent call for an independent forensic audit of same which had been declined by the EC, with the promise that it was already being addressed as the situation was not new.
Among key issues raised were illegal transfer of voters to other jurisdictions and polling stations without their knowledge, omission of names of some eligible voters from the register, over-population of some polling stations, as they do not tally with recorded figures during registration, among others.
The EC has also explained that such anomalies were the basis for exhibiting the provisional voters’ register, as part of the process to expunge names that must not be on the electoral roll.
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The demonstrations were attended by thousands of Ghanaians and party faithful, as well as key party members and officials.
Some key party officials present at the Greater-Accra Regional demonstration included the National Communication Officer, Sammy Gyamfi; the Minority Leader, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson; the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ningo-Prampram, Sam George; the Director of Election, Dr Yaw Omane Boamah; the Director of International Relations, Alex Segbefia, among others.
Accra
Mr Nketiah stated that the NDC was not seeking favours from the EC, the presidency or any quarters, but was demanding a right to free and fair elections.
"In the democracy of this country, we want nothing but transparent elections that will guarantee our right to choose our leaders. Without the right of self-determination, democracy is hollow. Every democracy, at one point in time, must be tested,” the National Chairman of the NDC said.
Ho
From Ho, Alberto Mario Noretti reports that the demonstration started with traditional prayer at the Nfojoe Park at Ho Civic Centre at about 9:20 a.m. to invoke the spirit of the ancestors in the fight against all forms of corruption in officialdom and the call for a credible voters’ register.
The activists brought traffic flow in the Volta Regional capital to a standstill for several hours, especially on the road from Asigame to Ray Makosa Junction, Independence Avenue, and other principal streets.
However, the presence of numerous police platoons, squads and contingents, as was seen in all other venues of the demonstration, ensured peace and order throughout the demonstration, which ended on the premises of the EC close to midday.
The Volta Regional Chairman of the NDC, Mawutor Agbavitor, presented a copy of the NDC’s petition to the EC officials.
Wa
From Wa, Kwadwo Baffoe Donkor and Sahada Dramani report that as early as 7 a.m., members of the party started gathering at the Regional Coordinating Council from where they paraded through the principal streets to the Regional Office of the EC, where the Regional Chairman of the NDC, Abdul Nasir Saani, presented a copy of the petition to the EC.
Holding placards, the demonstrators marched amid dancing and chanting to demand for the cleaning of the voters register to guarantee a credible election.
Cape Coast
From the Central Regional capital, Cape Coast, Shirley Asiedu-Addo reports that the protest commenced from the Siwdu Park through some principal streets to Kotokuraba, causing traffic jams before a petition was presented at the regional office of the EC.
They were led by the Central Regional Chairman of the NDC, Richard Asiedu, and some MPs, including that of Cape Coast North and South, Kweku Ricketts Hagan and Dr Kwamina Mintah Nyarko, respectively, and other executive of the party.
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Issues identified
Regarding the Central Region's petition to the EC, Prof. Asiedu said the audit and comparative analysis of the 2024 transfers made in the EC District Offices across the region; and the 2024 transfers issued by the EC Head Office data on a hard drive issued to the party for the 2024 exhibition exercise revealed discrepancies.
He stated that while the head office hard drive data issued to the NDC indicated a total of 71,828 transfers from the 22 district offices’ transfers data, printouts issued to parties showed a total of 36,311, making a difference of 35,517.
That, he said, suggested that there were huge illegal transfers of voters made from the EC Head Office into various constituencies across the Central Region.
Koforidua
From the Eastern Regional capital, Koforidua, Haruna Yussif Wunpini reports that the exercise started at exactly 9 a.m. and among the crowd were the National Youth Organiser of the NDC, George Opare-Addo, former Eastern Regional Minister, Mavis Ama Frimpong, regional and constituency executives, MPs, former Municipal and District Chief Executives (MDCEs) and other party sympathisers.
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The demonstrators walked through the principal streets of Koforidua to the B. Foster street and finally to the Regional Office of EC, where the Eastern Regional Chairman, Dr Mark Oliver Kevor, read and presented the petition to the electoral body.
Bolgatanga
Gilbert Mawuli Agbey reports from Bolgatanga that almost the entire township came to a standstill as thousands of supporters of the NDC joined the nationwide demonstration.
The protest commenced from the Jubilee Park through some principal streets of the town before a petition was presented to the regional leadership of the EC and was read by the Regional Secretary, Donatus Akamugri.
Sunyani
From Sunyani, Biiya Mukusah Ali observed that the Bono Regional Chairman of the NDC, Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, a former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Dr Stephen Kwabena Opuni, and MP for Tain, Sulemana Adama, and all the parliamentary aspirants contesting, were spotted among the hundreds of other NDC faithful who participated in the Bono Regional version of the peaceful demonstration against the EC.
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