Members of the opposition National Democratic Congress have been left confused following the conflicting directives coming from their flagbearer, former President John Mahama, and their National Chairman, Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, in respect of the party’s position on the upcoming voters’ registration exercise.
Mr Ofosu Ampofo had issued orders to the party members not to take part in the upcoming exercise, saying the party had taken a decision to boycott it.
He gave the orders while addressing NDC members and supporters at the party’s head office during the celebration of its 28th anniversary.
“We say ‘no’ to the new register and even if Parliament passes the legislation, we will not accept it. We are not just against it because they will not accept the old voter card, but because the whole atmosphere in the country is not conducive,” he said.
The order came at a time the General Secretary of the party, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, and the National Chairman of the People’s National Convention (PNC), Bernard Mornah, were reported to have gone up North to incite chiefs, NDC supporters and the masses against the Electoral Commission.
Expressing tacit support for their position, the former President also threatened that the opposition party would not accept the outcome of any “flawed elections”, if the EC should go ahead to compile a new voters’ register.
“We all await the hearing of our highest court to determine whether we’ll have a flawed election or we’ll have an election that we have confidence in and that the will of the people have been properly expressed.
“We are committed to a peaceful electoral process, but let nobody be mistaken because we will not accept the result of a flawed election,” Mr Mahama stated during a gathering of party members and executives at the NDC headquarters in Adabraka earlier this month.
Reality dawns
However, with the dawn of the reality, the leadership of the NDC now appears to be in a whirlwind of indecision over the upcoming voters’ registration exercise, slated to commence on June 30.
While the National Chairman and the General Secretary still maintain their position against the upcoming registration exercise, former President John Dramani Mahama, rather in a shocking U-turn, after threatening the EC with mayhem, has backtracked on his decision.
Appearing to be playing smart on the minds of members of the party, the former President now says the NDC will not seek to undermine the democracy of the country, should the Supreme Court fail to rule in its favour in the case challenging the legality of the compilation of a new electoral roll.
Mr Mahama is now asking Ghanaians to participate in any form of voter registration exercise undertaken by the Electoral Commission (EC) in the build-up to the December general elections.
Speaking during a community engagement at Tongor, in the South Dayi constituency of the Volta Region, the former President asked the chiefs to use their influence to encourage the citizenry to register in whatever registration the Supreme Court allows the EC to conduct in order to exercise their franchise on December 7, 2020.
“I want to remind all our citizens that this year is an election year. The Electoral Commission has decided that it wants to conduct a registration exercise. We had disagreements with the Electoral Commission on what register to use and the matter has been at the Supreme Court and we are waiting for the Supreme Court for its verdict.
“Whatever verdict the Supreme Court gives, we are ready to be law-abiding citizens so we shall respect the verdict of the court. But whatever the verdict is, there is going to be a registration exercise, whether a limited registration, new registration exercise, or validation of an existing register. Whichever registration it is, I will like to plead with Togbui to beat the gong to all our people to come out and register so that in December they can register and exercise their votes,” Mr Mahama pleaded.
Source: Daily Statesman
