Former President John Dramani Mahama has alleged that the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) was seeking to transfer voters from NPP strongholds in the Ashanti, Eastern and some areas in Greater Accra regions in an attempt to offset NDC’s gains in strongholds.
“We have in our possession a long list of constituencies in the Ashanti and Eastern Regions and selected places in Greater Accra and other regions where the NPP is seeking to transfer thousands of voters from their strongholds to offset the NDC’s gains in constituencies we control,” Mr Mahama alleged in a statement issued Monday night [June 3, 2024].
He stated that the Electoral Commission’s decision not to allow agents of political parties to observe the ongoing voter transfer exercise “points to only one reason— the EC’s avowed determination to aid the ruling NPP in stealing the outcome of the 2024 elections.”
“But as I [Mahama] have continued to repeat, and did the past weekend in Tongo, this collusion between the EC and the NPP will not work. They will fail!”, Mr Mahama added.
The two major political parties, the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) are at variance with the decision by the Electoral Commission (EC) not to allow agents of political parties to observe the ongoing voter transfer exercise.
While the governing NPP is in support of the EC’s decision, the opposition NDC has insisted that party agents would go ahead to monitor the exercise across the country.
Ahead of the December 7, 2024 general election, the Electoral Commission began the transfer of votes, application for proxy voting and replacement of lost or damaged voter ID cards on May 30, 2024 and is scheduled to end on June 14, 2024.
Per the Constitutional Instrument (C.I.) governing the elections, the Electoral Commission is not obliged to admit political party agents as observers of transfer of votes, application for proxy voting and replacement of lost or damaged voter ID cards, the EC has said.
However, pursuant to Regulation 22 (8) of CI 127, EC returning officers are required to give copies of the transfer of voters list to political parties and candidates upon request.
Kasoa clashes and EC directive not to admit political party agents
According to the EC, on the grounds of transparency and magnanimity, it decided to allow party agents to observe the process.
But following a confrontation between party agents at Kasoa in the Awutu Senya East constituency in the Central Region on Sunday, June 2, 2024, the EC has directed its officers not to allow political party agents to observe the ongoing exercise.
The move, according to the EC is to ensure that, sanity prevails during the two weeks exercise so that the exercise can progress smoothly.
The Kasoa incident led to the stabbing of one person and the arrest of three people by the police.
The EC in a memo dated June 2, 2024 signed by Deputy Chairman, Dr Bossman Asare issued the directive to EC officers not to allow party agents to observe the ongoing exercise.
Emergency IPAC meeting
The Kasoa incident also prompted an emergency Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting on Monday morning [June 3].
At the meeting, Graphic Online gathers that the EC insisted on not giving the green light to political parties to monitor the exercise.
The NPP, represented by Peter Mac Manu, a former Chairman of the party said they support the EC’s move because after all, it was on the grounds of “magnanimity” that the EC decided to allow party agents to observe the process although the law does not allow political party agents to monitor the exercise.
The NDC’s Director of Elections and IT, Dr Edward Omane Boamah however on his part expressed the stance that the NDC will still go ahead and send agents to monitor the exercise.
They both spoke to the media in separate interviews after the IPAC meeting on Monday.
The EC did not comment after the meeting.
IPAC meeting
The IPAC emergency meeting was attended by representatives of other political parties including the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP), the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Progressive People’s Party (PPP), National Democratic Party (NDP) and Ghana Freedom Party (GFP). Also in attendance were representatives of civil society organisations and the country’s donor partners.
Mr Mac Manu and Dr Boamah in their separate interviews with the media said the IPAC meeting ended without any decision on the withdrawal of agents of political parties monitoring the ongoing voter transfer exercise and that the EC would communicate on the matter later, reports Graphic Online’s Samuel Duodu and Getrude Ankah Nyavi.
The EC would make a decision on whether to permit the return of party agents to observe the transfers later, they stated.
They told the media that it was agreed that individuals who registered before 2023 should proceed with the transfer of votes for the 2024 general election while those who just registered in the limited voter registration of 2024 will have their fate regarding transfers determined by the EC.
That has to do with students who registered during the 2024 voter registration exercise in the 25 public universities.
Earlier NDC statement
Following the EC’s directive on Sunday, the NDC in a statement signed and issued by its General Secretary, Fifi Fiavi Kwetey called on all its agents across the country to monitor the ongoing voter transfer exercise.
Former President Mahama’s allegation
“I [Mahama] am not surprised that the NPP and the EC quickly reversed a collective decision taken at an IPAC meeting last week to have political party agents present at the district offices for the transfer exercise,” Mr Mahama stated.
“The NPP knows and internally admits that it will lose the 2024 presidential elections. We also know that, as a last resort, it seeks to deploy gerrymandering during this voter transfer period to improve its chances in the parliamentary elections in the erroneous belief that it may rely on that to affect its presidential votes,” he added.
Attached below is a full copy of the statement, also published on Facebook by the former President
Source: graphic.com.gh
