EC's 41-Day Ultimatum . . . I Can't Think Far; I Can't Think Madness - Sam Payne

Ashanti Regional Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Sam Payne has called on Opinion leaders and Civil Society groups in the country to intervene in the exercise by the Electoral Commission (EC) to accept application of proxy voting. The EC has begun a 41-day exercise to accept application for proxy voting during the general elections on December 7. The exercise started on Wednesday, August 17 and will end on September 26, 2016. It will enable eligible voters to delegate someone to vote on his/her behalf when he/she is unable to be present during the December 7 polls. Speaking on Peace FM's Kokrokoo, Sam Payne expressed displeasure with how the EC is going about the whole process, which he deems inappropriate and should not be encouraged. He wondered how the EC could allow the 'proxy' - someone who claims to have the trust of the 'prinicipal' to vote on his/her behalf - to pick up a form from the designated area for the proxy voting application and fill in the name of the 'prinicipal' without the person (prinicipal) being present. He held strongly that it is a recipe for election rigging. "Do you know that the register is incomplete? We don't have a register now. Because the continuous registration, limited registration and so forth have not been firmed. The laws that should be enacted to guide the process have not been finalized. So, what way are we using to do the transfers? he queried. " . . Ghanaians should be vigilant. Things like this are very disturbing," he added. The Ashanti Regional NPP Secretary further stressed that there is a looming danger around the 41 days of the exercise because to him, the exercise is in a hurry and therefore raises numerous concerns. To him, the EC should reconsider the period for the proxy voting applications. Sam Payne also held strongly that major stakeholders in the country's electoral process should bring the EC's attention to this anomaly and ensure the right thing is observed. “Chiefs who have remained quiet as well as opinion leaders, civil society groupings and advocates all must speak out. Even if they lack understanding of the issue, they should ask those who have in-depth knowledge on electoral issues and speak out. But if we leave it like that, I can’t think far for the country. I can’t think madness,” he posited.

Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi /Peacefmonline.com/Ghana