Thursday, 21 September

Limited registration exercise: EC hasn't complained of lack of funds, so why the mess? - Minority

Politics
Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, Deputy Minority Leader

The Minority has strongly criticised Madam Jean Mensa, the head of the Electoral Commission, for the chaotic state of the ongoing limited voter registration exercise. 

According to the Minority, the EC has failed to address the issue of insufficient funds for organising the registration of first-time voters in the country.

Mr Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, the Deputy Minority Leader, speaking in an interview on Accra 100.5 FM's mid-day news on Wednesday, September 13, 2023, asserted that Madam Jean Mensa could not attribute the registration exercise's problems to a lack of funds since there had been no previous instances where the EC boss had reported a shortage of funds for the exercise.

Mr Buah emphasised that, as a stakeholder, he had been compelled to arrange transportation for approximately 200 potential voters in the Elembelle Constituency to various registration centres. 

He raised a pertinent question about why the Electoral Commission had undertaken the limited registration exercise without any prior complaints about inadequate funding.

The Member of Parliament for the Elembelle Constituency in the Western Region further questioned the EC's decision to organise the limited registration exercise, given that Madam Jean Mensa had not raised concerns about a lack of resources. 

He firmly stated that the EC boss could not absolve herself of responsibility for the chaos that had marred the registration process since Tuesday.

Mr Buah revealed that due to the Electoral Commission boss's intransigence, some Members of Parliament from both the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) had to contribute funds to transport potential voters from their homes to the district electoral centres.

He stressed that if there was an issue, the EC boss should be forthright about it, allowing the Minority to address the matter effectively.

The Minority, together with some other smaller political parties, have raised serious concerns about the limited voter registration exercise and criticised Madam Jean Mensa for not addressing the alleged funding issues, which they believe have contributed to the ongoing problems which include the breakdown of registration machines and network failures. 

They are calling for transparency and accountability from the Electoral Commission to resolve the situation

Source: Classfmonline.com/cecil Mensah