Mahama Urges EC To Expand Mop-Up Voter Registration To Remote Areas: "Prevent Voter Suppression"

• John Mahama, the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress, has urged the EC to expand the mop-up voter registration exercise
• The former president is concerned with the prospect of voter suppression and disenfranchisement
• Mahama was speaking during an interaction with Ghanaians dubbed ‘Mahama Conversations’ on June 9, 2024

The flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Mahama, has urged the Electoral Commission (EC) to expand the mop-up voter registration exercise to hard-to-reach areas.

Mahama said the expansion will help prevent voter suppression and disenfranchisement.

He noted that transportation for prospective voters and guarantors remained a major problem, especially because of the network failings that made the commission unreliable.

Because of the transport cost, Mahama fears such people may not get a second chance if they cannot afford a second trip to registration centres.

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“I will continue to urge the EC to prevent voter suppression by extending the mop-up exercise beyond its district offices to include all hard-to-reach areas."

Mahama was speaking during an interaction with Ghanaians dubbed ‘Mahama Conversations’ on Sunday, June 9, 2024.

The EC plans to conduct a mop-up exercise from August 1 to 3, 2024.

Mahama has been critical of the EC and recently accused it of trying to rig the election with the temporary banning of party agents from banning the voter transfer.

The NDC flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama, also said the move suggests collusion with the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) to rig the general elections.

One of the NDC's main concerns with the process was the prospect of gerrymandering to affect the outcome of certain parliamentary polls.

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Violence during Voter Registration

YEN.com.gh reported that there was a clash between supporters of the NPP and NDC in Awutu Senya West on May 7, 2024.

The clash occurred during the first day of the voter registration exercise because of a dispute over the registration order.

The Asutifi South MP, Collins Dauda, was also arrested for his alleged involvement in disturbances at Kukuom during the registration exercise. One person sustained an injury and received treatment at the hospital following that incident on Saturday, May 11, 2024.

Proofread by Berlinda Entsie, journalist and copy editor at YEN.com.gh

Source: YEN.com.gh