Assin North by-election: EC dismisses NDC’S claims

The Electoral Commission (EC) has dismissed claims by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) that the Commission is attempting to insert the name of one of the NPP’s aspirants into the Assin North voters register ahead of the by-election.

The NDC had on Sunday revealed that the NPP aspirant Charles Opoku is not a registered voter in the Assin North Constituency, adding that the “illegal” move will help the aspirant contest.

Responding to the allegations in a statement, the EC insisted that they were false and should be treated with the contempt it deserves.

According to a statement by the EC, a person does not need to be a registered voter in a particular constituency to enable him or her to contest elections in that constituency.

“For the records, the EC has not received any such request from the NPP to transfer the votes of any person. This allegation is false and a figment of the author’s imagination. As usual it is aimed at maligning the integrity of the Electoral Commission.

“Per the Constitution, simply hailing from a constituency entitles a person to contest an election in that constituency so long as the person is, a Ghanaian, twenty-one years and above, of sound mind and a registered voter,” parts of the document read.

Below is the full statement

RE: NPP AND THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION IN A PLOT TO ILLEGALLY INSERT THE NAME OF AN UNQUALIFIED NPP PARLIAMENTARY CANDIDATE INTO THE ASSIN NORTH VOTERS’ REGISTER

The Electoral Commission’s attention has been drawn to a misleading press statement attributed to the National Communications Officer of the NDC alleging collaboration between the NPP and the EC for the purpose of transferring the vote of one Charles Opoku to the Assin North Constituency to enable him contest the upcoming by-election in the said constituency.

We wish to state that this is not true.

For the records, the EC has not received any such request from the NPP to transfer the votes of any person. This allegation is false and a figment of the author’s imagination. As usual it is aimed at maligning the integrity of the Electoral Commission.

Per Article 94 of the 1992 Constitution, a person does not need to be a registered voter in a particular constituency to enable him/ her contest election in that constituency.

Per the Constitution, simply hailing from a constituency entitles a person to contest election in that constituency so long as the person is

A Ghanaian
Twenty one years and above
Of sound mind
And a registered voter

In the event where a person who wishes to contest in a particular constituency does not hail from that constituency, that person will be eligible to contest if he/she is ordinarily resident in that constituency or has been a resident there for a total period of not less than five years out of the ten years immediately preceding the election for which he/she stands.

We make this point to buttress the fact that a person who hails from a constituency per the Constitution need not be a registered voter in the constituency he /she wishes to contest in.

Simply hailing from there is enough.

As such there is no reason to engage in transfers as being alleged by the NDCs Communications Officer. It is a well-known fact that the current Commission has been the most transparent and accountable in its operations. The Commission has carried out its mandate in strict consonance with the Constitution.

To date the NDC has not proved a single allegation they have made against the EC. The continuous maligning of state institutions such as the EC by the NDC only weakens and undermines our democracy.

The EC will continue to uphold transparency, fairness, and integrity in all its operations. We urge the good people of Ghana to trust us to continue to deliver credible elections.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT