The New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) director of communications, Richard Ahiagbah, has angrily refuted claims that he incited unrest during Ketu South’s ongoing limited voter registration drive. These claims, which gained traction on social media and were echoed by National Democratic Congress (NDC) leaders, implied that Ahiagbah tried to register unlawfully even though he was already registered to vote based on his involvement in the 2020 elections.
Ahiagbah confronted these allegations head-on and called them “false and unsubstantiated” in an extensive press release. He gave a brief account of his registration history in Ketu South since 2000 and said that the purpose of his visit to the registration center was to address what he called a “administrative error” on the part of the Electoral Commission (EC) during this year’s voter registration exercise.
“Today, I went to the registration location where I registered in 2020 to remedy the EC’s administrative error, but I was faced with a frivolous and obstructive challenge to my eligibility,” Ahiagbah said in his defense, giving a chronological description of the proceedings. He went on to bemoan the behavior of NDC agents and EC officials, claiming that they disregarded his efforts to settle the dispute amicably and persisted in impeding his registration procedure.
Ahiagbah also expressed his dissatisfaction with the challenges he encountered, which he sees as a sign of a more widespread trend of disruptive behavior that will probably recur as the election draws near. He urged the Electoral Commission to act swiftly to stop these trends in order to preserve the peace and guarantee the integrity of the electoral process.
Ahiagbah reiterated his resolve to going through the required steps to get his name verified on the voter registration in spite of the incident. He made it clear that he intended to use his democratic right to vote for his party in the next elections.
The event that occurred at the Ketu South registration office serves as a reminder of the larger problems with political competition and mistrust that frequently arise throughout Ghana’s election processes. The NDC and NPP have a history of leveling accusations against one another over electoral irregularities, and as the election date approaches, it is likely that these claims will worsen.
