The National Democratic Congress (NDC) wants President Nana Akufo-Addo to immediately ensure that the National Identification Authority (NIA) and the Electoral Commission (EC) adhere to the social distancing directives given by the government.
The party, in a letter to the President, expressed disappointment in Nana Akufo-Addo for allowing the NIA to continue with the Ghana card registration exercise and flagrantly disregarding the directive against public gatherings.
“His [President Akufo Addo’s] stance as evidenced by the Attorney General’s appeal is a betrayal of public trust, because the NIA, being a public institution that reports directly to President, should not be encouraged to act with such levels of impunity in flagrant disregard of the President’s own lawfully instituted public health directive to deal with a National Emergency of this magnitude,” the letter said.
NDC also accused the president of scheming to manipulate the electoral process in a bid to win the 2020 elections in the face of the Coronavirus pandemic where some 68 cases have already been confirmed in Ghana with two deaths.
“Our passionate appeal to President Akufo-Addo is that there is a time for elections and there is time to save human lives, the lives of the very people who voted him into power and whose votes he may need again,” the NDC said.
The NIA recently came under heavy public criticism for proceeding with its Ghana Card registration despite a directive from President Akufo-Addo for the suspension of public gatherings as part of efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19.
The Electoral Commission (EC) also courted public disaffection over its stance to proceed with a voter registration exercise.
The NDC said President Akufo-Addo must ensure that the EC and the National Identification Authority comply fully with the directives in order to prevent Ghana from getting into a health crisis regarding the outbreak of COVID-19.
“We expect him to demand full compliance of all directives he has given so as to send a clear and unambiguous message to all public institutions and individuals that he means what he says. The President must also restrain his overzealous Electoral Commissioner who seems totally oblivious to the escalated health crisis posed by the pandemic and which requires marshalling all available resources and undivided attention. That is how serious governments have approached this pandemic,” the NDC noted.
EC postpones voters’ registration
The EC has postponed its planned voter registration exercise as a result of the outbreak of COVID-19. The Commission in a statement said a new date will be announced when issues concerning the outbreak ends.
NIA in court
Meanwhile, the NIA is in court challenging a suit brought against it for going on with the registration exercise despite the president’s directive.
It has however suspended the exercise due to the legal challenge.
