Felix Kwakye Ofosu a former Deputy Information Minister in the Mahama administration says outcome the just ended Voters’ registration exercise shows the Electoral Commission’s (EC) decision was politically influenced.
Kwakye Ofosu says the EC made so much noise about the need to get a new register but with the outcome of minors and foreigners being captured in the new one, it does not justify the intent touted by the Commission.
“They were carrying out the wishes of the NPP which for some reason had been under the misguided belief that once they were in power they could manipulate the process and have a register that they can control. With the view to suppressing votes in NDC strongholds.”
“That for me bluntly speaking was the main driver of the decision to register. All the excuses and claims that were made have turned out to be untrue,” he said.
“Whereas the EC claimed they were doing this to clean the register, they did not have a system that was going to ensure that. Essentially, we are placing more confidence in the word of mouth as opposed to an authentic document produced by established state institutions,” he noted.
He said the just-ended Voters’ registration exercise was a waste of time and resources.
“This has been one big waste of everybody’s time and resources that are scarce and that we could have used to do more useful things for this country.”
“The outcome of the registration exercise shows that the decision to compile the new register does not make any more sense now than it made when the idea was first mooted,” he said on the Joy Super Morning show.
The EC has said there are minors and foreigners among the 16.9 million persons it has so far registered to vote on December 7.
The Chairperson of the EC, Jean Mensa who made the revelation said, measures are in place to clean up the register before the December polls.