The opposition National Democratic Congress in the Ashanti region has accused the Electoral Commission of registering minors in the region as the voter’s registration exercise comes to a close.
According to the party, the EC is embarking on the alleged illegality with the help of the National Identification Authority.
“The concurrent ongoing NIA mop-up registration exercise and the EC’s registration exercise in the Ashanti Region has become a conduit through which the Electoral Commission is Registering minors. The NIA is currently registering minors who are below 18 years as 18-year-olds with the primary motive of making them eligible to register as voters in the upcoming 7th December 2020 general elections. This practice is unlawful and must be stopped immediately.
“We caution parents and guardians to ensure that their children are not allowed to be exploited for partisan political gains that may adversely affect them in the future,” the NDC said in a statement signed by its Ashanti regional Secretary Kwame Zu Thursday.
It added: “We also call on all our Party Agents and the general public to be vigilant and challenge any minor that would avail him or herself to be used by desperate politicians for this disturbing electoral fraud”.
The Commission is set to end the voter’s registration on Friday, August 7,2020 with a mop-up expected to end on Sunday.
Below are details of the statement from the NDC
THE EC IS REGISTERING MINORS IN THE ASHANTI REGION.
The concurrent ongoing NIA mop-up registration exercise and the EC’s registration exercise in the Ashanti Region has become a conduit through which the Electoral Commission is Registering minors. The NIA is currently registering minors who are below 18 years as 18 year olds with the primary motive of making them eligible to register as voters in the upcoming 7th December 2020 general elections. This practice is unlawful and must be stopped immediately.
We caution parents and guardians to ensure that their children are not allowed to be exploited for partisan political gains that may adversely affect them in the future.
We also call on all our Party Agents and the general public to be vigilant and challenge any minor that would avail him or herself to be used by desperate politicians for this disturbing electoral fraud.
We thank the Ghanaian people for their vigilance so far.
Signed,
Kwame Zu
(Regional Secretary)
06/08/2020
Source: Starrfm.com.gh