The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has maintained that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the Electoral Commission (EC), are bent on smuggling the name of a stranger into the Assin North voters register in order to pave the way for him to contest in the upcoming by-election.
The Party’s National Communications Officer, Sammy Gyamfi, said the two entities are working together to insert the name of one Charles Opoku into the register.
Mr. Gyamfi said the move is illegal as it is a breach of Regulation 22 of the Public Elections Regulations, 2020 (CI 127). He disclosed this in an interview with GBC’s Bubu Klinogo.
Meanwhile, the NPP has denied any involvement in the alleged plot to illegally insert the name of an unqualified NPP Candidate into the Assin North Voters Register. According to the NPP, it is yet to hold Primaries in the Assin North Constituency to select its Parliamentary Candidate for the upcoming by-election.
Therefore, it is unfounded for the NDC to claim that the NPP has already chosen a Candidate and is conspiring with the Electoral Commission to transfer the voter. In a statement, the NPP highlighted that both of its candidates, who have filed to contest in the by-election, meet the Constitutional requirements to stand.
The statement notes that the NPP has worked hard to maintain its enviable position as the pacesetter of Multiparty democracy in Ghana, which includes the strengthening of independent democratic institutions of the State like the Electoral Commission.
As such, it cannot be the Party that engages in any acts that would jeopardise the nation’s democratic gains. The NPP assures Ghanaians, particularly the people of Assin North, that it is committed to upholding and defending the 1992 Constitution.
The NDC had earlier alleged that the NPP and the EC were colluding to insert the name of an unqualified candidate into the Assin North Electoral roll to gain unnecessary advantage. The NDC said it would resist the illegality and cautioned the EC to stay away from any attempt to smuggle the name of unqualified persons into the Assin North Register.
