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Election 2024: Live telecast of IPAC meeting will ensure transparency – NDC
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has reiterated its call for a live broadcast of the upcoming Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, October 1, as part of its commitment to ensuring transparency in Ghana’s electoral process.
This request follows a prior rejection by the Electoral Commission (EC), which declined a similar appeal from the NDC to televise discussions about discrepancies found in the Provisional Voters Register (PVR).
In a brief press statement issued on Monday, September 30, the EC urged all stakeholders attending Tuesday’s critical IPAC meeting to present evidence and data to support any discrepancies or concerns they have with the PVR.
The Commission emphasised that this collaborative approach would help address outstanding issues with the voters’ register.
The EC also noted that, despite repeated requests, the NDC has yet to provide the data backing its claims of discrepancies, for which the party is demanding a forensic audit of the PVR.
Speaking to Citi News, the NDC’s Deputy Director of Elections and IT, Dr Tanko Rashid Computer, stressed that broadcasting the meeting live is crucial to gaining the trust and confidence of the Ghanaian public.
“We think that it’s very important we have this live broadcast because of the enormity of the issues at stake. Because the 2024 general elections hinge on the register, everything about the election is about a credible register,” he said.
According to him,“EC according to their response to us, is that we should come and they will indicate to us how they have resolved all the issues we are raising, then it is important that the media comes along to see what we are doing.”
He said,“Because it is this transparency everybody is looking for that is why we have sent them, it is an open-ended invitation we have given to them, and they should allow the media in. Why are they running away from the media if they don’t have anything to hide?.”
Source: Citinewsroom
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Afenyo Markin criticises Police over handling of Abronye’s case
The Minority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Afenyo Markin has raised concerns about the handling of the arrest and detention of Bono Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwame Baffoe, also known as Abronye.
According to him, the police invited Abronye on Monday, September 8, and he honoured the invitation with his lawyers.
He said Abronye submitted himself to interrogation but, within an hour, was taken into the custody of the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB).
The Minority Leader questioned why the police, who were investigating the case and had their own holding cells, decided to send someone being investigated for a misdemeanor to the NIB.
He intimated that checks confirmed that the NIB was not investigating or interrogating Abronye, but had only kept him because the police requested it.
He wondered whether the move was meant to punish Abronye, stressing that the police detained him the whole of Monday night and Tuesday morning, before presenting him to court on 9th September.
The Minority Leader added that in court, the police asked for Abronye to be remanded to allow further investigations, and the judge granted the request.
He however described it as unfortunate that the police handcuffed Abronye when he was leaving the court.
By: Jacob Aggrey
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Power Is like an ice block, it melts from day one – Afenyo-Markin warns
The Minority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has urged political leaders to learn from past mistakes and handle power with caution.
Speaking at the Accra Circuit Court for Abronye DC proceedings, Afenyo-Markin admitted that governments in the past, including his own side, had made mistakes and were not perfect.
He warned that if such mistakes were repeated, the country could be heading in the wrong direction.
He pointed to the removal of a former Chief Justice as an example, saying a report was prepared even before a committee hearing was completed.
According to him, such actions make it difficult to control extremists and hardliners in Ghana’s politics.
The Minority Leader stressed that power is temporary and must be exercised responsibly.
“Power is like an ice block, When it’s given to you, it starts to melt from the very day,” he noted.
By: Jacob Aggrey
