Vote transfer violence: CODEO calls for immediate mediation, intervention by Peace Council

Coalition of Domestic Elections Observers (CODEO) has called on the Peace Council to immediately intervene in the standoff and tension brewing between political parties, specifically the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the Electoral Commission (EC), in the vote transfer exercise.

The National Co-ordinator of CODEO, Albert Arhin’s call follows the NDC’s opposition to the EC’s directive to political parties to recall their agents from the EC’s offices in the ongoing voter transfer exercise.

During an Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting on Monday, the NDC maintained its position not to withdraw its agents, asking its agents to ignore the EC’s ‘outrageous’ directive.

Also, the NDC noted that it had information indicating that the NPP was moving some voters from different constituencies to increase their votes in certain constituencies.

Mr Arhin speaking to Alfred Ocansey on 3FM’s new analysis programme Hot Edition on Monday, June 3, bemoaned the level of violence characterizing the voter transfer exercise, stressing the negative impressions these pockets of violence would have on the main election day.

This is the very first time the election management body is allowing political parties to send their agents to monitor the voter transfer exercise.

According to him, the EC was magnanimous to allow the party agents to monitor the process because there is no law backing it. He noted that the EC assured the political parties of their commitment to supervise a credible, free and fair election.

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“As for the assurance, they [EC] said it again and again. They gave assurance that there’s nothing untoward they would do and that they are going to be as transparent as ever. They even emphasized the fact that this is not even in the law they have allowed them to go and it shows the extent to which they can be magnanimous in granting this wish.

“I was surprised when I got there because it has never happened in any transfer of votes that you send people there as observers…it’s the first time and look at what has happened.

“So my personal view is that the way this thing is going, either the peace council can come in and talk to both parties so that peace can prevail. If we forget about it and let this thing to continue, we are not going to have a peaceful transfer of votes. It is sending a bad signal to this year’s election,” he said.

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