The Electoral Commission of Ghana is in the news again and as usual it is for the wrong reasons.

Ever since Jean Mensah was put at the helm of affairs at the EC, the Commission under her leadership has been fraught with controversies, inconsistencies, and outright incompetence in the management of the main electoral body of the country. It was under Jean Mensah’s leadership that nine unarmed Ghanaian citizens exercising their democratic right to vote were shot and killed in cold blood in Techiman South.

Prior to that, the country had witnessed the chaotic bye elections in Ayawaso West Wuogon, where Ghanaians were beaten, maimed, shot, and even a sitting Member of Parliament was subjected to severe physical abuse for voicing out concerns over electoral irregularities.

We need to remind ourselves as a country that as at today, the good people of SALL who are also Ghanaians have been without representation in parliament since 2020.

This is directly because of the orchestrations and machinations of the Jean Mensah led EC and the looting brigade of the NPP government.

We are currently learning from our indefatigable comrades in Parliament led by the honorable Minority leader that Jean Mensah now wants to use $80 million to compile a new voters register for the 2024 general elections.

How did we get here?

Can Madam Jean Mensah explain to us what she used the almost $100 million she was given in 2020 to compile a voters register with facial recognition technology for?

We certainly did not see facial recognition technology being used in the 2020 elections and till today there has been no account of how that money was used.

Is there any reason why the auditor general has refused to audit the accounts of the electoral commission under Jean Mensah?

And in any case, on what basis is the Ghana card the sole document for compiling a new register when we know provisions have been made for foreigners to acquire the Ghana Card?

What happened to the continuous registration process as we have known since the time of Dr. Afari Gyan and Charlotte Osei? Why a new register when Jean Mensah and Dr. Bossman Asare have told us the 2020 voters register remains the best in the history of Ghana.

NDC USA wishes to state unequivocally that we will join the good people of Ghana to embark on a lawful civil disobedience as suggested by our comrade Ras Mubarak if this decision by the electoral commission to use The Ghana card to compile a new voters register is allowed to stand. H.E John Dramani Mahama handed over a peaceful democratic Ghana to the NPP in 2017 and we expect this NPP government and the EC to do same when the time comes for the NDC to assume office in 2025. Long live Ghana, long live NDC, and God bless us all.

Signed
Vivian Maame Aba Dadzie
Chairman NDC USA Chapter