EC did not consult political parties before laying C. I. for the December elections – Sammy Gyamfi

The National Communications Officer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfihas accused the Electoral Commission of not consulting political parties for inputs prior to the laying of the Constitutional Instrument for the governing of the 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary elections.

The Electoral Commission has presented a number of Constitutional Instruments in Parliament but had to withdraw them because according to the Minority in Parliament the Instruments were “defective.”

A new one is currently pending in Parliament for approval. The instrument will among other things amend C.I 91 to make Ghana card and passports the only forms of identification before one could be captured onto the yet to be compiled new voter’s register.

The Commission is abandoning its current register for a new one.

It intends to procure a new biometric voter management system which among other things, has facial recognition technology for a fresh registration exercise.

But the National Communications Officer of the NDC, Sammy Gyamfi speaking on Eyewitness News, said: “On our blindside, the EC has laid in Parliament a Constitutional Instrument to govern the 2020 elections and the processes leading to same. Blindside because this C.I. was laid in Parliament without any consultation with political parties at IPAC in violation of what the tradition has been since 1994.”

“We were not consulted. When the Afari Gyan-led EC decided to pass CI’s and LI’s to regulate elections in this country all political parties were involved in the drafting of the law and the same thing happen under the tenure of Charlotte Osei with the legal committee being put in place with OB Amoah of the NPP heading and we (NDC) were represented by the venerable Hudu Yahaya with Kwabena Bomfeh representing the CPP as part of stakeholder deliberations before it was laid in Parliament. To our utter shock, the Jean Mensa-led EC decided to lay this C.I. before Parliament without any consultations or whatsoever with political parties, and it was done on our blindside,” he said.

Resist EC’s attempt to change citizenship laws – Haruna Iddrisu to Ghanaians

In relation to the same matter, the Minority Leader in Parliament, Haruna Iddrisu has called on Ghanaians to stop the Electoral Commission (EC) from going ahead to compile a new voter’s register for the 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary elections.

Haruna Iddrisu in a statement issued on Friday, May 15, 2020, said if the Electoral Commission succeeds with the intended amendment and proceeds to compile the new voters’ register, millions of Ghanaians will be disenfranchised.

“I am therefore calling on Ghanaians to resist this blatant attempt by the Commission to amend or change the citizenship laws of Ghana through the backdoor by using an inferior Instrument to amend an Act of Parliament or by extension the Constitution intended to disenfranchise Ghanaians thereby denying them their fundamental right to vote as provided by the Constitution.”

CNR