‘EC does not intend to disenfranchise anyone’ – Jean Mensah

Electoral Commissioner, Jean Mensah has dispelled claims suggesting that the limited voter registration, scheduled to take place at the Commission’s district offices is a calculated attempt to disenfranchise some Ghanaians.

She told the press at a briefing in Accra, Monday, that persons making such statements are not familiar with the real situation the commission deals with.

The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has objected to the decision to hold the limited registration in district offices instead of polling stations saying, it will end up disenfranchising many qualified potential voters.

However, Madam Mensah explained that holding the registration exercise in district offices would spare the country a huge cost.

She established that purchasing and maintenance of the machines which were used during the 2011 elections are costly, unlike the other ones which are modern and user friendly.

Another motive behind embarking on the registration exercise in selected electoral areas, according to her, is to refurbish kits in some regional offices which could as well enable those in remote areas vote.

She said: “The EC has no intention to disenfranchise anybody. However, it is in our interest to have a 100% voter turnout in our registration. We would be saving this nation some good money if we go in for modern user friendly gadgets as compared to what was used in 2011 that was costly to maintain and costly to buy.”

The EC boss further noted that the commission’s decision was a brave one and as such, they expect citizens to applaud them and not criticise their actions.

Source: www.ghanaweb.com