Do not Disenfranchise Eligible Ghanaian Voters – Rawlings to EC

Former President of Ghana, Jerry John Rawlings has cautioned the Electoral Commission (EC) to ensure that its upcoming voters’ registration exercise does not exclude eligible voters.

Rawlings said, the registration exercise should be done in the “justly” manner to protect the sanctity of Ghana’s electoral process.

The EC has faced stiff opposition in its bid to compile a new voters’ register as the country gears towards its 2020 general Presidential and Parliamentary elections.

The EC had said persons registering for the new voter card are required to produce a Ghana card or a Ghanaian passport. In the absence of that, two guarantors can vouch for the nationality of the applicant.

Critics mostly from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have argued that, the EC’s arrangements and requirements for the new register, may result in the disenfranchisement of many eligible voters.

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Commenting on the issue at the “June 4” commemoration event, the former president suggested that a wrongfully conducted exercise might deepen unfairness that exist.

“The sanctity of the right of choice is not a matter we can compromise with. That sanctity must be preserved at all cost and as we inch towards November let us ensure that the institutional processes are transparent and beyond blemish. Freedom and justice is not abstract. It is very much related to the sanctity of the right of choice.

Those who are eligible to exercise that right of choice should not and cannot be disenfranchised by dictates that defeat one’s right to vote. The sanctity of justice should be preserved and protected with all of us being subject to the practice of what is just. An unjust society deepens the inequities that exist”.

Rawlings called for a broader stakeholder consultation to address the seeming tension between opposition political parties and the EC.

“We must endeavor as a nation to deepen the spirit of the consultative process, equity, respect for the rule of law or in simple terms, the tenet of democracy, and multiparty democracy.

“The Electoral Commission which is the fulcrum of our multiparty democracy must be supported and protected by all stakeholders; to ensure a free and fair election and a peaceful society,” Mr. Rawlings said.

The 41st anniversary of the June 4 uprising was held at the Office of the former President on Thursday.

It was under the theme, “Strengthening the Spirit of Patriotism, Resilience, and Integrity in Difficult Times”.