By Godfred A. Polkuu, GNA
Pulmakum (U/E), May 28, GNA – Mr Emmanuel Awinimi, the Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Pusiga Constituency of the Upper East Region, has pledged the Party’s continuous commitment to uphold the integrity of Ghana’s electoral process.
“The NPP is committed to upholding the integrity of the electoral process and ensuring that only eligible voters are allowed to register.
“We have no involvement in any illegal activity, and we condemn any attempts to undermine the credibility of the limited voter registration exercise,” he said.
Mr Awinimi gave the assurance at a press conference at Pulmakum, a community in the Pusiga District.
He denied allegations by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) which link the NPP and its Parliamentary Candidate for the area, Alhaji Abdul-Wahab Hanan Aludiba, to any misconduct in the registration process.
He said, “The arrest of a Registration Officer for allegedly using wrong Ghana Card numbers to register multiple individuals, had nothing to do with the NPP.
“The fact that the system was able to detect that the Ghana card numbers used were wrong and could not be allowed to register, means the system only recognizes valid Ghana card numbers for use, and that means stronger systems have been put in place, which we need to applaud the Electoral Commission.”
He said the NPP was encouraged by the actions of the State mandated bodies to investigate the matter, adding that “It is crucial for all political parties to adhere to established procedures and guidelines to maintain the transparency of the process.”
Mr Awinimi said allegations that non-Ghanaians were brought into the country to register were false, explaining that they were indigenes of Widana and Pulmakum who were engaged in businesses in Togo and Burkina Faso, and had returned to part-take in the National Identification Authority’s (NIA) registration exercise in the area.
The Communications Director said the NIA’s activities were not geared towards aiding foreigners to register for the ongoing limited voter registration exercise.
“These claims are baseless and aim at disparaging the NIA’s legitimate efforts,” Mr Awinimi insisted.
He said the NPP believed that the nation’s hardworking Immigration Officers at the border would not allow such an act, because it contravened the CI 91, which clearly spelt out the modalities governing the registration exercise.
Mr Awinimi said the NPP remained focused and would continue to abide by the laid down procedures of all institutions that mattered to their course as a political party and urged members of the public, to be vigilant and report any suspicious activities to the appropriate authorities.
He encouraged all citizens to join efforts to work together to safeguard the nation’s democratic principles.
GNA