The acting President of Sampa Traditional Coucil, Nana Kwadwo Magssah
The acting President of the Sampa Traditional Council in the Jaman North District, Nana Kwadwo Magssah, has lauded the Electoral Commission (EC) for the decision to compile a new voters’ register for the 2020 election.
According to him, the current register contains names of foreigners and, as a result, there was a near chaos in the Jaman North District during the 2016 election.
The chief recalled that because the then ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) believed the voters’ register contained names of foreigners, it brought disagreement and the people of Jaman North could not vote on December 7, 2016. He said they were rather allowed to vote the next day because the NDC and the NPP could not agree on the credibility of the register.
He indicated that the people of Jaman support the compilation of a new voters’ register to remove any ambiguity surrounding the 2020 election, adding “we are happy the EC wants to compile a new register’s because your vote is your power.”
Nana Magssah said this on Monday when Bono Regional NPP led by its chairman, Kwame Baffoe, aka Abronye DC, called on him at his palace as part of the effort to explain to traditional leaders the need for a new voters’ register which the NDC is fighting against.
The chief said the misunderstanding over the register caused tension in 2016 and nearly resulted in violence. He, therefore, called on politicians to go about the registration exercise peacefully to enable everybody to register without fear.
He appealed to government to speed up work on the Sampa town roads and expressed satisfaction over progress of work on some of the projects in the district.
Addressing the council, Abronye DC refuted allegations by the NDC that the government desires a new register because President Akufo-Addo wants to sack foreigners from the country as alleged by NDC General Secretary Johnson Asiedu Nketia at Kintampo.
He said the decision by the EC to compile a new voters’ register was based on many factors including the commission’s own admission during the tenure of former commissioner Charlotte Osei that the voters’ register contained millions of voters who used NHIS cards to register which the Supreme Court directed that names of those voters be expunged but only 56,000 were removed.
He explained that before the 2016 election, the NPP advocated a change of the register because it was bloated and said the ruling party had been consistent in its call for a new register.
Besides, the education took Abronye DC and his team to Suma Ahenkro, Kiwatwoma, Dwenem and Jenjini traditional councils where he impressed upon the chiefs to allow their people to go and register.
From Daniel Y. Dayee, Sampa