The last day of the voter registration exercise in the Ashanti region was marked by controversy as allegations of political parties influencing minors to register dominated the discourse.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) accused the New Patriotic Party (NPP) of transporting several minors to registration centres, while the NPP has vehemently denied the claims.
At various registration centres in Kumasi, Citi News observed that political parties were busing students to register, sparking concerns about the authenticity of the exercise.
The Chairman of the NDC for Nhyiaeso, speaking to Citi News, expressed suspicion about the NPP’s actions, citing the lack of official release of students by headmasters or headmistresses.
“If you ask me personally, I have a suspicion because they claim they are form two students, we don’t understand why the headmasters or the headmistresses did not release them at that time and they chose to do that on the last day. Doesn’t it ring a bell?”
However, the NPP has denied the allegations, with Kennedy Mintah, the NPP Deputy Youth Organizer for the Manhyia North constituency, claiming that he carefully selected students who were within the eligible age bracket.
According to Mr. Mintah, he requested BECE certificates from the students, which showed their original date of birth, and calculated that they were within the eligible age range.
“I carefully selected the students, and this is the process. I called for their BECE certificates, which have their original date of birth on it and if you calculate as I’m speaking to you now, you realise that the child falls within the bracket. So, when they say we are registering minors, it’s a falsehood and disregardful”.
Despite the controversy, representatives from both political parties expressed satisfaction with the voter registration exercise.
Source: Fati Aminu Ibrahim