The Presidential Candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Mahama, has expressed concerns over the Electoral Commission’s (EC) preparation towards the 2024 elections, citing the lack of consensus on the credibility of the voters’ register as a major hurdle.
He said discrepancies identified in the electoral register, specifically regarding the potential disenfranchisement of eligible voters, needed to be addressed to ensure a peaceful process.
“We all want a peaceful election but the grounds work that leads to the election, I believe, if we get it right it will lead to a peaceful election,” he said.
The former President was speaking in a meeting with a pre-election assessment team from the West African Elders Forum, led by former Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan.
Present at the meeting were the General Secretary of the NDC, Fifi Kwetey; the Director of Elections of the NDC, Edward Omane Boamah, and the Spokesperson of the NDC Presidential Candidate, Joyce Bawa Mogtari.
Peaceful process
Mr Mahama said with just 60 days to the election, the push for a peaceful and transparent process has never been more critical, and addressing key issues related to the voters’ register was crucial.
“If we cooperate with one another, especially with the EC that is supposed to be a neutral arbiter, we should be able to get it right again,” Mr Mahama said.
He, therefore, urged the EC to ensure that all eligible Ghanaian citizens exercise their democratic right to vote.
Mediation
For his part, former President Jonathan commended Ghana for holding peaceful elections back to back in the fourth republic.
“I commend Ghana as a country that has conducted peaceful elections since 1992 and I am hopeful the 2024 elections will be peaceful as well,” he said.
Mr Jonathan said within the West Africa sub-region, most conflicts have been election related and there was a need to prevent those election-related conflicts by being proactive in the process towards the election.
“That is why we are placing more emphasis on elections because we don’t want violence before we come in to mediate,” he said.
Forum
The West African Elders Forum is a platform of eminent personalities who provide mediation and interlocutory role in addressing electoral and democratic conflict in West Africa and was established in 2020.
The meeting with Mr Mahama, part of which was held behind closed doors, was to afford the forum the opportunity to listen to the concerns of the NDC ahead of the election and ensure its resolution to ensure a peaceful electoral process.
Address
Ms Mogtari, in an address to the media after the closed-door session, said the NDC had made it clear to members of the forum their concerns about the preparations towards the election including the decision to re-exhibit the electoral register online.
She said the decision was misplaced as it would prevent many people from participating in the process.
“How many people can get access to the online portal? We all saw how results were declared and corrected in 2020,” she said.
She said other concerns centred on how difficult it had become to get issues resolved through Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) and alleged statements by the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, not to hand over power.
EC
The Chairperson of the EC, Jean Mensa, at the special IPAC meeting held on October 1, announced that the commission would re-exhibit the corrected Provisional Voters Register (PVR) online but a date for the exercise was yet to be fixed.
She said the commission would announce a time period during which political parties, voters and other stakeholders might report any further discrepancies in the corrected PVR, before the final voters’ register is printed for the 2024 elections.
Source: graphic.com.gh
