Bawumia Was Not Verified At Exhibition Centre � EC
The Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana has revealed that the vice-presidential aspirant of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, was verified during the exhibition of the voters’ register “outside the exhibition centre”.
This was contained in a press release signed by the Deputy Chairperson for Operations of the EC, Amadu Sulley, on Tuesday August 9, 2016.
The statement pointed out that after investigations by a 3-member committee, it was discovered that “Dr Mahamudu Bawumia was facilitated by officers [of the EC] to check his name in the voters’ register and got verified outside the exhibition centre”.
The two EC officials, Ambrose Yobe (Exhibition Officer) and Mumuni Latifa (Verification Officer), were deemed to have violated the regulations of the election-conducting body.
“The Commission wishes to advise political leaders to familiarise themselves with the electoral laws and regulations to enable them to insist on the right things being done at all times,” the statement further admonished.
Below is the full statement:
VERIFICATION OF DR. M. BAWUMIA OUTSIDE DESIGNATED EXHIBITION CENTRE
The Electoral Commission’s attention was drawn to an incident involving the verification of a voter outside the designated Exhibition Centre number H230401 at the Kperiga Presby JHS ‘A’ in Walewale in the West Mamprusi District on 24th July, 2016.
A three-member committee was set up by the Northern Regional Directorate of the Commission to investigate the incident and provide appropriate recommendations. The Committee has completed its work and found as follows:
1. That on the said date, Mr. Ambrose Yobe (Exhibition Officer) and Ms. Mumuni Latifa (Verification Officer) closed and vacated their exhibition centre before the stipulated closing time of 6pm.
2. That Dr Mahamudu Bawumia was facilitated by both officers to check his name in the voters’ register and got verified outside the exhibition centre.
The Committee was of the considered opinion that the conduct of the officers was a violation of the guidelines issued for the exercise and contrary to the Commission’s policies.
According to the rules and the guidelines:
1. Only the Commission has the mandate to designate specific areas as Exhibition Centres.
2. Exhibition officials have no authority to set-up or relocate Exhibition Centres to a place different from the one designated by the Commission without the prior express authorisation of the EC.
3. Exhibition officials are not permitted under any circumstances to vacate their duty posts or close their centres before the specified closing hours without prior authorisation from the Commission.
The Committee concluded that allowing a registered voter to go through the exhibition process outside the designated centre was an irregularity and a breach of the rules. Accordingly, the two officers were replaced by the Ag. District Electoral Officer as soon as the issue was brought to the attention of the Commission.
The Commission wishes to advise political leaders to familiarise themselves with the electoral laws and regulations to enable them to insist on the right things being done at all times.
The commission would like to further encourage members of the public to continue to support the electoral process by promptly bringing any irregularities to its attention for speedy resolution.
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