Member of Parliament (MP) for Effutu Constituency in the Central Region, Alexander Afenyo Markin, has asserted that a section of the Electoral Commission’s (EC’s) statement about the proxy voting application has the tendency for election rigging.
According to him, in as much as the EC wants to be fair to all the political parties, its activities will indirectly favour the party in government.
Speaking on Okay Fm, Mr Afenyo Markin indicated that there is a bit of mischief about the statement issued by the EC concerning the proxy exercise.
His fear was based on the fact that the commission had not come out clearly with its explanation about the proxy going to pick the application forms on behalf of the eligible voter who cannot vote during the polls.
To him, the usual practice is that it is the eligible voter who for some reason cannot vote, should have been the one to go for the application forms; thus, even if the proxy should go for the application forms, the process of submission of the forms is not clear.
The Electoral Commission has begun a 40-day exercise to accept application for proxy voting by eligible voters during the general election on December 7.
The exercise, which started Wednesday, August 17 and ends on September 26, 2016, will enable an eligible voter to delegate someone to vote on his/her behalf when he/she is unable to be present during the presidential and the parliamentary polls.
The CI 75-backed process will ensure that when a voter assigns a proxy, that individual’s data is retrieved, reviewed and verified for the proxy to vote, after which the proxy would go to his own polling station to cast his own vote.
But Afenyo Markin has urged the leadership of his party – the NPP – to seek further clarification from the EC.
“NPP has stayed in opposition for eight years and so we are vigilant and wild awake. The party should seek further clarification on that, where the proxy voter can pick the application form for the eligible voter who cannot vote due to certain circumstances; we should be vigilant about the proxy exercise of the EC,” he urged.
“Rigging of election is not one day event; it is a process that is deliberately planned and mature for execution. The statement the EC issued about the proxy voting has a bit of mischief,” he noted.
Sign up here to receive daily email alerts of breaking news in Ghana. GhanaStar.com is your source for all Ghana News. Get the latest Ghana news, breaking news, sports, politics, entertainment and more about Ghana, Africa and beyond.
