NDC allegations malicious — NPP
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Suame Constituency in the Ashanti Region has described as malicious and childish an allegation by the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) of attempts by the NPP to label some NDC members on the voters register in the constituency as dead and so should be dismissed with dispatch.
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The party said the allegation made by the NDC Deputy General Secretary, Mr Koku Anyidoho, recently in Kumasi that the Suame Constituency of the NPP was targeting people from northern and Volta extraction amounted to divisiveness as it did not promote national unity.
Mr Anyidoho alleged last week of the existence of a list of those labelled as dead being compiled to be presented by the NPP to the Electoral Commission (EC) for their names to be expunged from the national register, thereby denying them the opportunity to vote in this year’s general election.
Article 55(3)
The NPP Communications Director for the Suame Constituency, Dr John Osei Bobie-Boahen, said in Kumasi on Wednesday that Article 55(3) of the 1992 Constitution enjoined political parties to formulate and disseminate political, social and economic ideas and programmes to the people.
He said in pursuant of this, the Electoral Commission (EC) submitted the voters register to political parties to aid in the electoral process.
Soliciting votes
‘The Suame NPP has procured the polling station voters register and has asked its polling station executives to help identify who lives at which places to enable the party to contact them to solicit their votes.
“That, indeed, is the purpose of the exercise and if this is what is causing jitters or even fear and panic within certain corridors, that is their own cup of tea,” Dr Bobie-Boahen said.
The party debunked assertions that its constituency chairman, Mr Kennedy Atta Marfo, and one Frank Owusu Yeboah were arrested on April 11, this year, by the Suame Police in connection with the allegation.
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Rather, it said some NDC sympathisers who allegedly attacked its polling station chairman, Derrick Naab Kakora, and bolted had been arrested by the Suame police.
“Mr Naab Kakora hails from the Upper East Region and is resident at Suame and he could not have been working against his own people from the north,” he added.
The party said the fundamentals of electioneering and elections were not about the display of muscles but ideas and programmes.