Greater Accra Regional Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr.Theophilus Tetteh-Chai has said the electoral commission has reached the point of disagreement with some political parties because they have failed to operate with some key principles that goes hand in hand with their work.
Reacting to the move by a group called the Mass Action Movement (MAC) to consult some leaders in the country on the matter concerning the EC’s compilation of a new voters’ register, Mr. Tetteh-Chai said that it is in their right to make such a move but as they do so, the MAC will also need to preach these principles he talks about.
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“One thing I would want to remind my brother Atik [Leader of MAC] on is that if you want to preserve and maintain our democracy today, the principles that make democracy stand are transparency, accountability, probity and integrity. They are the key evidence you need to protect democracy. That’s why I am saying he is sharing his opinion. But I believe these are the key principles we need” he said.
According to him, the parties against the compilation of the new voters’ register feel disgruntled because the the principles he mentioned were not in place right from the beginning. That he says is what they want to ensure are in place before they move on . He say that these happenings makes it clear that the EC has decided not to be transparent in its dealings and they are fighting to correct this.
He went on to add that “political parties are taking these positions simply because the EC we have now has decided not to be transparent in its dealings all that have happened recently were as a result of the pathe political parties and civil societies have taken [to ensure that there is transparency]. That is what has today forced the EC to come out the way they are coming out”.
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When this is done, the former member of parliament for the Ablekuma Central Constituency believes that the EC as a body will get to understand that they are serving the nation and not a group.
Adding his voice to the same issue, former Member of Parliament for Bantama Constituency in the Ashanti Region, Dr. Kwabena Kokofu said that the issue of a transparent elections is first of all something that the president has promised to ensure.
Saying he was not surprised with the stance of Mr. Tetteh-Chai with regards to works Atik Mohammed and the Mass Action Committee (MAC) in calling for a new register, Dr. Kokofu went on to add that if the issue had to be decided with numbers, it would be very obvious that the NDC and the parties opposing are in the minority in this matter.
He believes that the move taken by the MAC is a very good one and the steps they are taking to get the issues resolved is very good.
“The bottom line on this matter is that Electoral Commission has a mandate to their work. I accept they have to do their work in a way that will bring prosperity, peace and fairness to the people of Ghana; and that is where they are now ” he said adding that the court is a more peaceful way to resolve issues than to resort to protests.
