Nana Kwame Bediako
Founder of the New Force Movement, Nana Kwame Bediako, has petitioned the Electoral Commission (EC) to extend the period for the ongoing limited voter registration exercise for first time voters.
Addressing a presser in Accra, Mr. Bediako said the 20 days allocated by the EC to carry out the registration exercise was woefully inadequate.
“They have given us 20 days to practice our voting registration rights, and this I have put a petition on behalf of the nation to the EC to reconsider this duration and extend the time for us,” he mentioned.
Citing reasons for the call, Mr. Bediako said many of the youth that the exercise is targeting are in school preparing for their exams, adding that the few days allocated for them to go home and register is not enough to get all of them registered.
“We have to be fair to our people, and therefore I’m asking again for this petition to be established for the youth of this nation,” he stressed.
Mr. Bediako also raised concerns over the location of the registration centres, expressing the fear that in hard to reach areas, potential first time voters could be disenfranchised because of the long distances they have to travel before getting to a registration centre.
“In 2024, we don’t have 33,000 stations or polling stations for people to register, instead, we have 258 offices by the EC that has three to four different constituencies, making it 1,068 spaces which is 3% of the 33,000 polling stations that helped us to do the registration in the past four years.
“My question is, how is this going to be possible by using just 1,068 spaces, commanding the entire nation, people to come from different types of regions, some travelling 2,050 kilometres just so they can have a registration?” he quizzed.
Mr. Bediako said for the youth like his son who turns 18 in June, unfortunately, “he has to wait for another four years before the best opportunity to be a part of democracy.”
He noted that contrary to the EC’s time frame for registering new voters, developed countries open their registration throughout the year to give people enough time to get registered.
“They have a whole year that they open their systems for the nation to be able to exercise their voting rights and throughout this year, they take the time to educate the youth and the people of the country so they can understand what democracy is,” he noted.
Mr. Bediako reiterated his petition calling on the EC to protect the country’s democratic rights.
“I’m saying this boldly that politicians will come and go, their time is four to eight years, and, therefore, we cannot govern this nation based on a politician’s interest.
“I’m asking politely that as a country, as a nation, we should all come together and go forward with this petition. Making sure that the EC grants us the extension and I think as a nation, we have the rights to do so,” he added.
A Daily Guide Report