Ghanaians In Togo Fight Dr. Bawumia Over Voters' Register

Some Ghanaians living in Togo are contesting claims by the NPP that it compared the Togolese voters' register to that of Ghana and found that thousands of Togolese vote in Ghana. The group, calling itself Ghana Citizens in Togo say it is impossible for the NPP to obtain that country's voters' register which would prove the claims. Addressing the media in the Togolese capital Lome, leader of the group, Joseph Brown Hammond, said a professor with the Togo Electoral Commission has “denied categorically” that Togo’s voters register has been given to a third party. “It was impossible for anyone to lay his hands on the document....not even political parties in Togo have access to their register”, Joseph Hammond claims. The group is challenging Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the running mate of the NPP 2016 flagbearer, Nana Akufo-Addo, to explain how he obtained Togo’s voters register “kept under guard”. The NPP is claiming that Ghana’s voters register is bloated hence the need for a new one. The NPP says its investigations showed Togolese nationals have been crossing the Ghanaian border to register to enable them vote in the December 2016 polls. Dr. Bawumia in a power point presentation weeks ago showed proof that there are more than 76,000 Togolese nationals registered in Ghana to vote. The presentation has formed the basis for the NPP’s outcry that without a new voters register, the eventual winner of the 2016 presidential election would have been determined by foreigners. But the Ghana Citizens in Togo have denied Dr. Bawumia’s claims and are challenging him to present the register he believes is Togo’s voters register for scrutiny. Joseph Hammond says Dr. Bawumia description of the supposed foreign nationals as "potential voters” only goes to prove that the more than 76,000 could vote in Ghana. It means the NPP politician is not sure enough, he believes. “The man is playing with our future....why should politicians be toying with our lives?” He is calling on Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia to apologise to Togo’s Electoral Commission. The group says attempts by the NPP to deny them citizenship may only provoke Togolese authorities to hound and sack the Ghanaians resident in that country.

Source: myjoyonline.com|EA