By Edzorna Francis Mensah
The NDC MP for Juaboso who also doubled as the Parliamentary Candidate for the area, has indicted the Electoral Commission for blatantly violating the Constitutional Instrument 127 (C.I. 127), which governs the conduct of elections.
He said, Regulation 19(6)(a&b) of the said C. I require the EC to publish the names and photographs of presiding officers and polling assistants at District Offices and provide these details to political parties and candidates at least 10 days before the election.
However, the published list of polling officers in Juaboso includes no photographs, violating this clear mandate.
According to him has deliberately omitted telephone numbers for about 159 polling officers, while some listed numbers are shared among multiple officers, “raising serious doubts about the authenticity of these entries”.
He said, these irregularities further erode public confidence in the EC’s credibility and impartiality.
The MP in the person of Kwabena Mintah Akandoh at a news conference in his constituency on issues related to the upcoming general election said that the EC is constitutionally mandated to act as an impartial referee in the electoral process, not as a biased player aiding one side against another, “yet, it is clear that the Commission has thrown this mandate aside and is operating as though it were the NPP’s campaign headquarters”.
“Such reckless and unconstitutional actions cannot be ignored, and we will not allow them to go unchecked. As for the NPP, these desperate tactics only confirm what Ghanaians already know: their government is at its end”.
Mr. Mintah Akandoh mentioned that “these are the dying days of their rule, and they will stop at nothing to cling to power. But let them hear us clearly: no amount of rigging, no number of planted polling officers, and no manipulation by the EC can save them from the inevitable defeat that awaits them”.
He said, the people of Ghana have had enough, and they are ready to deliver a resounding judgment at the polls.
He, however, demanded the following from the Electoral Commission without delay:
Publication of an updated list of polling officers which includes photo
graphs, in compliance with C.I. 127. Immediate removal of openly partisan NPP polling officers, whose affiliations compromise their neutrality.
Correction of all irregularities in the list of polling officers, ensuring individual, verified phone numbers for every officer.
“Let this serve as a warning to the EC: Ghanaians will not stand by and allow you to subvert their will.
If you insist on this path of partisanship, the responsibility for any crisis that follows will lie squarely at your doorstep.
“We will not allow the EC or the NPP to undermine the sanctity of our elections. Ghana deserves better. The people deserve better. And come Election Day, the people will prevail,” Kwabena Mintah Akandoh added.
