Abdul Malik Kweku Baako, Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide, has jumped to the defence of the Electoral Commission, stressing that nothing can change the Commission’s decision on the voters’ register.
The Electoral Commission’s decision is to compile a new voters’ register and has petitioned Parliament to amend Constitutional Instrument (C.I) 91 to legitimize the Ghana card and Ghanaian passport as the only legal documents to be used for the registration exercise.
The EC’s decision has been met by intense opposition from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) which says the Commission wants to disenfranchise 11 million Ghanaian electorates, hence their decision to use only the Ghana card and Ghanaian passport for the registration exercise.
The NDC has also accused the EC of planning to rig this year’s elections in favour of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
Although the EC called for an Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting with all political parties on Wednesday, May 27, 2020 to discuss issues regarding the compilation of a new voters’ register, the NDC boycotted the meeting on principle that they are opposed to a new register.
The party has also dragged the EC to the Supreme Court praying the court for an order to direct the Commission to include “all existing voter identification cards duly issued by the 2nd Defendant (EC) as one of the documents serving as proof of identification for registration as a voter for the purposes of public elections”.
But to Kweku Baako, the opposition by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) will not bear any fruits.
According to him, the NDC may choose to boycott IPAC meeting but they still will have no option to meet the EC in an inter-party meeting even if the Commisison rescinds their decision for a new voters’ register and rather goes for a limited registration exercise.
“Look, you don’t have a choice. They don’t have the luxury of an alternative. They must meet,” he said in reference to the EC/IPAC meeting for which the NDC was to attend.
Again, to him, the NDC should focus on their court case against the EC and stop giving commentaries on the sidelines regarding the Commission’s decision if the party doesn’t want to be involved in the IPAC meeting.
He however strongly believed the EC will go ahead with what it’s constitutionally right for them to do with or without the NDC’s consent.
“Demonstrations are legitimate. It’s an option available. Protests of all kinds…sitting on radio and television and talking and criticizing and arguing, all those are options the democratic dispensation allows but none of them can change the EC’s decision,” he told host Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM’s ‘Kokrokoo’.
