‘Yɛnpene’ protest held in Kumasi
Members of the Inter-Party Resistance Against New Voters Register Tuesday poured onto the principal streets of the Ashanti Regional capital, Kumasi, in their hundreds to protest against the decision by the Electoral Commission (EC) to compile a new biometric voters register.
The close to four-hour march began from Aboabo in the Asawasi Constituency, through Alabar, Suame, Kejetia, Pampaso and Adum to the Jubilee Park at Asem.
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The protestors were led by the national executives of the biggest opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), and the national chairmen of the People’s National Convention (PNC) and the All People’s Congress (APC).
Also present were some NDC Members of Parliament (MPs).
The march, dubbed: ‘Yennpene’ (We won’t agree), was the second in a series planned by the group to drum home their protest against the decision of the EC to have a new biometric voters management system (BVMS).
The first was held in the Northern Regional capital, Tamale.
Protestors
A large number of the protestors were dressed in red apparel to show their seriousness on the voters' register.
They held placards, some of which read: ‘New voters register is needless’, ‘UNDP, EU, USAID advise Jean Mensa to stop it’, ‘Pay striking teachers. Don’t waste the money on the new voters' register’, ‘We need new jobs, not new voters register’, ‘Save the cedi, not the voters' register’, among others.
They marched, danced and chanted along the streets all the way to the Jubilee Park where they were addressed by the leaders of the demonstration.
Waste
Addressing the gathering, the National Chairman of the APC, Mr Hassan Ayariga, said the new register that the EC intended to compile would amount to a waste of resources because there was nothing wrong with the current one.
He said the parties were not against the EC but rather against its policies and way of doing things.
According to him, Ghana was a democratic country and as such there was the need for the EC to exhibit democratic tendencies in its engagement with the political parties.
He said if the EC claimed that the current register was not credible, then President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo could not be President of the country because it was the same register that was used to conduct the last general election which he won.
He thus called on the EC to listen to the cry of the people and rescind its decision to go ahead with the process.
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For his part, the General Secretary of the NDC, Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, reiterated the NDC’s opposition to the new register and announced that the parties would be seeking audience with Otumfuo Osei Tutu II to appeal to him to also add his voice to the call on the EC to reconsider its decision.
He said there was the need to involve other stakeholders, especially eminent people and recognisable groups, such as the National House of Chiefs.
Suspension of demo
When he took the microphone, the National Chairman of the NDC, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, said the inter-party resistance movement would suspend its protest marches for now and engage traditional authorities and other eminent personalities on the way forward.
He said the new register could not be a done deal, as the EC was portraying, saying: “The EC must listen to the voice of the people and to commonsense.”
Personalities
Other notable personalities who took part in the demonstration were the NDC MP for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa; the MP for Asawasi, Alhaji Muntaka Mubarak; Sammy Gyamfi, the NDC National Communications Officer; Bernard Mornah, the National Chairman of the PNC, and Alhaji Collins Dauda, the MP for Asutifi South.
Police
The organisers commended the police for displaying professionalism and ensuring an incident-free demonstration.
Mr Mornah said the police showed that they were a police force for Ghana and not for a political party, adding that if the police continued to show such professionalism, they would always enjoy support from the people.