The National Communications Officer for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Sammy Gyamfi says they are surprised the Electoral Commission held an IPAC meeting this morning (May 27, 2020).
Mr Gyamfi explaining why the NDC did not show up for the meeting said the letters the EC sent to their party indicated the meeting was slated for 10:00 pm on May 27, 2020.
He also added that there was a mistake in the EC's letter and they drew their attention to that, the EC subsequently wrote another letter and sent Emails to them but did not change the time for the meeting which was still 10:00 pm.
READ ALSO: EC to begin compilation of new voters' register from late June
Â
"The NDC is still in shock about media reports that the IPAC meeting slated for today has taken place because the letter we received from the EC inviting us to this meeting stated the time for today's meeting was 10:00 pm. On May 19, 2020, we received a letter from the EC inviting as to an IPAC meeting on May 27, 2020, but the letter was dated May 19, 2010, few minutes after receiving the letter the EC called us and said they had made an error with the date on the letter, so they brought another letter and that had a correct date of May 19, 2020, but the time of the meeting was still 10:00 pm. So even though we were not planning to participate we wanted to send a representative to go and raise preliminary objections about the legality of the meeting and the mode the EC had adopted. We just heard in the media that the media had already taken place, if this was a general mistake then all of us should have gotten the same thing" he said on Joy FM.
The PNC also have similar concerns as their letter also had 10: 00 pm as the time for the meeting.
The NDC also said there was no way there would be a proper resolution as far as the meetings are held in batches because if one group takes a decision, the other group will also take a different decision.
They argued all parties should hold one meeting so they come to a consensus.
Dr. Bossman Asare who is the Deputy EC Chair today at an IPAC meeting held at 10:00 am said they have discussed a detailed and comprehensive roadmap for the scheduled mass registration exercise with the various political parties.
“We also announced to them the protocols we have put in place to ensure that the voting process is very, very peaceful, safe and secured.â€
The EC says it will begin the voter registration exercise next month, June 2020.
The process will be done within 40 days.
The Electoral Commission’s decision to compile a new voters’ register has been met with mixed reactions from the political front.
Whereas the NDC and some opposition parties are against the decision, the NPP and twelve other political parties have backed the move.
Despite the opposition, the EC was scheduled to embark on the exercise in April 2020, but it called it off following the outbreak of the Coronavirus disease in the country.
The EC subsequently said, it will adopt safety measures if the times comes for the registration exercise to commence.