The Member of Parliament for Afram Plains North Constituency in the Eastern Region, Betty Nana Efua Krosby Mensah has recounted how this limited voter registration exercise is milking her money.
According to the Afram North Legislature, since the commencement of these registration exercise on September 12, 2023, she has spent One Hundred and Thirty-five Thousands Ghana CEDI’s (GH¢135,000.00) on transporting those who have turned eighteen years and above from their various communities around the Volta Lake to come to Donkorkrom to get their names captured.
She indicated, that as a mother for the constituency she can’t sit down unconcern for her constituents names not to be registered on the national voters’ register; hence the move.
Betty Mensah adds, most communities are surrounded by river and islands and this young boys and girls have to travel by canoe or ferry to Donkorkrom for the registration and sometimes they get there late and she has to feed and get them accommodation so that they can register the following day and return home, saying, the risk involve nobody have an idea about it.
She also noted that, most of the places in her constituency don’t have access to network, therefore she resulted embarking on a radio tour to announce [ Volta Starr Radio] the information to them and is very costing.
Due to the aforementioned challenges confronting them in the constituency, on August 23, 2023 the MP and the Assembly members held a press conference and pleaded with the Electoral Commission to rescind its decision of doing the limited voter registration exercise at their various District Offices across the country and extend it to the electoral areas so that everybody can be registered.
The Afram Plains North MP said, after their press conference, she followed up with a petition to the Electoral Commission and low and behold, on September 15 2023, she got a response from the EC’s Chairperson Jean Mensa that they recognize and acknowledge the challenges in the constituency.
“But unfortunately they said due to some situation beyond their control they [EC] wouldn’t be able to make additional provision for them.
“However , the Office of the EC assured her [MP] that next year 2024 they have plans of doing a mop up exercise for hard to reach areas such as Afram Plains North”, she added.
Betty Krosby Mensah then stated that, in as much as the Electoral Commission was working under some level of constraint and if we allow that constraint to prevent them from discharging their constitutionally mandated duty or work it wouldn’t go well for the democracy of this country.
This came to light when she was speaking to Kingdom FM’s KONTIHEN KOFI OBOH.
She stressed, that EC have failed not only the people of Afram Plains North but the entire country in general as an institution, because she knows other constituencies that are also encountering same challenges and yet still they have to transport people to the EC’s offices to register their names.
“So the EC should fulfill its promise come 2024 and capture all those who have turned eighteen years on the national voters’ register to be able to cast their vote in the general elections”.
The Limited Voter Registration Exercise that commenced on September 12 is expected to come to an end on October 2, 2023.
“So far in Afram Plains North Constituency 800 to 900 people have been registered”, said the MP.
By// Kontihen Kofi Oboh.
Source// Obohnewsonline.com.
Obohnewsonline 