The National Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi, says President Nana Akufo-Addo’s decision to ease the restrictions on public gatherings was motivated by the his parochial political interest and not in the interest of the nation.

Mr Gyamfi told the media at the maiden edition of the NDC’s Weekly Press Briefing in Accra on Monday that the party believes that the President’s decision “is mainly intended to pave way for the Jean Mensah-led Electoral Commission (EC) to carry out its rigging agenda through the needless and wasteful new voter registration agenda.

“The fact that church and mosque gatherings are not supposed to have more than 100 people in attendance, and are supposed to last for just an hour but the National Identification Authority and EC have been given the freedom to register an unlimited number of people from 7:am to 5:pm, that’s for a period of 10 hours, shows clearly that the so-called partial reopening of schools, churches and mosques was only a ruse to the President’s main agenda.”

The NDC’s National Communications Officer said the NDC is appalled by the Jean Mensah-led EC’s refusal to honour the invitations of the National House of Chiefs, which were intended to promote dialogue on the matter of the EC’s entrenched decision to compile a new voters’ register for 2020 general election.

“Our traditional authorities are key stakeholders in Ghana’s peace architecture and have contributed enormously to the peace, stability and democracy of this country. The refusal of the Jean Mensah-led EC to honour their invitations is highly disrespectful and an insult to the values and customs of this country, and must be condemned by all well-meaning Ghanaians,” he added.

Mr Gyamfi warned that the “NDC shall employ every legitimate means to stop the EC’s attempt to foist on Ghanaians a needless and wasteful voter register that is intended to disenfranchise millions of eligible voters, mostly in NDC strongholds.”