Former President Jerry John Rawlings has called on the Electoral Commission (EC) to ensure that no eligible voter is disenfranchised in the upcoming polls.
According to him, “The sanctity of the right of choice is not a matter we can compromise with. That sanctity must be preserved at all cost and as we inch towards November let us ensure that the institutional processes are transparent and beyond blemish”.
“Freedom and justice is not abstract. It is very much related to the sanctity of the right of choice. Those who are eligible to exercise that right of choice should not and cannot be disenfranchised by dictates that defeat one’s right to vote,” he said at the 41st-anniversary virtual celebration of the June 4, 1979, uprising.
Mr. Rawlings also called on Ghanaians to respect the constitutional mandate of the EC.
“Ladies and gentlemen, our democracy is borne out of fire and we must dearly and compassionately protect its flames. One of the key institutional arms of this democratic discourse from pre-colonial to modern-day Ghana is the protection of right and choice. We must endeavour, as a nation, to deepen the spirit of the consultative process, equity, respect for the rule of law or in simple terms, the tenet of democracy and multiparty democracy”.
The EC “which is the fulcrum of our multiparty democracy, must be supported and protected by all stakeholders; to ensure a free and fair election and a peaceful society.
“That notwithstanding, it is equally important for that revered institution, EC, to ensure that the processes leading to this year’s elections are done in consultation with the stakeholders of the nation; to prevent unnecessary suspicion, and promote a peaceful and cohesive society”.