By Benjamin Adamafio Commey
Accra, Dec. 06, GNA – The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has called on the Electoral Commission (EC) to be proactive in its response to reports of electoral infractions that have emerged ahead of Monday, December 7 general election.
It said reports such as thumbprinted ballots, printed pink sheets, among others that were making the rounds on social media and other platforms put the integrity and credibility of the elections into doubt, adding that such allegations were not good for the peace of the country.
Addressing a news conference on the party’s preparedness ahead of Monday’s polls in Accra on Sunday, Lt. Colonel (rtd) Gbevlo Lartey, Director of Campaign Operations of the Party, said the EC must therefore move quickly to address those issues as such reports raised tensions in the country.
He said even though the NDC had shown commitment to ensure that the election was credible and peaceful by taking part in all engagements, it would resist any attempt by others to marr the process and rig the election.
“We are saying that there are several reports as at now on issues of pink sheets, there are issues about ballot papers that are thumbprinted, complaints about intimidation, complaints about arrests, and those things are not good for us.
“it is the EC that has the responsibility to run the elections and they need to take whatever precautions they need to take to ensure that the general population is assured that we are going to have transparent and credible elections. That responsibility is their’s,” Lt. Col. Rtd. Lartey added.
While commending the security apparatus for the various engagements held with political parties and the EC in the run up to the elections, Lt. Col Rtd Lartey expressed gratitude to President Nana Akufo-Addo, flagbearer of the NPP and former president John Dramani Mahama for committing to peace by signing the peace pact on Friday, December 5, 2020.
He assured Ghanaians of the party’s continuous commitment to ensure that the election was incident-free and urged their main opponents, NPP to also make the security and peace of the country their topmost priority.
Mr Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, Director of Elections, NDC, reiterated the party’s reservation over EC’s decision to declare the results of the elections within 24 hours, saying such a timeline was unrealistic considering the processes involved in collating the results.
He urged Ghanaians to cooperate with the security personnel to ensure peace and called on electorates in the Volta Region not to be intimidated by the presence of military in the region but rather go out in their numbers to cast their ballot.
GNA