National Communication Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi, has criticized Richard Ahiagbah, Director of Communication for the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), suggesting that he should have faced prosecution for his participation in the 2020 general election.
Gyamfi alleged that Ahiagbah committed a crime by voting in the 2020 election despite his name not being on the voters’ register, and furthermore, he publicly admitted to this offense. He emphasized that electoral laws in the country explicitly prohibit individuals from voting if their names are not listed on the voters’ register.
“This is a very serious matter. It doesn’t only border on the commission of a crime; it borders on a confession by Richard Ahiagbah that he has committed a crime… Voter registration in Ghana is governed by law. You cannot engage in registration and voting per your own whims and caprices.
“He himself has confessed to voting in the 2020 elections, both the presidential and parliamentary, when his name was not on the voters’ register. He said that he turned up at the polling station to vote on 7th December 2020, but his name was not on the register. In Ghana, you can’t vote in any public elections unless your name is on the voters’ register,” the NDC national communications officer said during a panel discussion on the Good Morning Ghana programme on Thursday, May 23, 2024.
He added, “If you check regulation 32 of CI 127, this is what it says: ‘(1) A polling assistant may, before delivering a ballot paper to a person who is to vote at the election, require that person to produce a voter identification card in order to establish that the person is the registered voter whose name and voter identification number and particulars appear in the register. (2) In the absence of a voter identification card, the polling assistant shall identify the name and particulars of the voter as recorded in the Names Reference List… If your name is not on the register, then it means there is no remedy for you; it means your card cannot be authenticated. It is useless. You are not entitled to vote.'”
Sammy Gyamfi said that the law states that Ahiagbah should have been imprisoned and/or fined and banned from voting for five years after serving his sentence.
Background:
Richard Ahiagbah confirmed claims that, despite possessing a legal voter identification card that was granted to him upon completing his voter registration in 2020, his name was not on the register when he went to cast his ballot in an interview with Accra-based Neat FM on Tuesday, May 14, 2024.
“I voted in the 2020 election. You have to ask officials of the EC why I was able to vote even though my name was not on the register.
“Because I have a voter’s ID card which bears my name. I got it in 2020 when we were asked to register for a new voters’ register. I have the card, and it has the polling station number where I have always been voting,” he said in the Twi dialect.
He added, “I went to queue to vote on 7th December 2020, and when it got to my turn, the officials said my name was not on the register. So, I asked why my details were not on the register and showed them my documents.”
The NPP communications director added that the EC official on election day agreed that he should be allowed to vote, but he does not know why they allowed him to vote even though his name was not on the voters’ register.
In an interview with Accra-based Neat FM on Tuesday, May 14, 2024, Richard Ahiagbah affirmed that despite possessing a valid voter identification card issued to him after completing his registration in 2020, his name was absent from the voter register when he attempted to cast his vote.