Dr Bawumia Presented An Original Togo Voters Register- Togo Official

The special adviser to the Togolese main opposition leader, Jean Pierre, Masseme Esse has confirmed
that New Patriotic Party (NPP) Vice Presidential candidate, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia presented an authentic copy of the Togolese voters’ register to the Electoral Commission (EC) to back his arguments of foreigners on Ghana’s voter roll.

Masseme Esse, who also described himself as a democracy activist in an interview on Adom FM’s Morning Show, ‘Dwaso Nsem’ on Thursday revealed that the opposition parties in the Francophone West African country gave the NPP the register it presented to the EC. “I am surprised that it (voters register) has been described as fake, because all political parties in Togo and some institutions are in possession of this same register, how come someone says it is a false document, I am saying it again that it is not false…,” he said.

The issue of the authenticity of the voters register presented by the former deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana has been questioned by the EC and the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The EC claims its partner in Togo refused to give it a copy of its register because it was a security document. The EC, and later the ruling party, then went ahead to claim the document presented by the NPP to back its argument for a new register was not authentic.

The General Secretary of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketia subsequently called for the arrest of Dr. Bawumia for ‘falsifying public documents’ with the intention of causing disaffection for public institutions and inciting the public against it. But this argument, Masseme Esse who claims he has been following Ghanaian electoral issues and has an exact copy of the voters register presented by Dr. Bawumia to the EC, said the arguments presented by the NDC does not hold water, arguing that it is never in doubt that there are persons in Togo and Ghana who vote in both countries.

“Many are aware that when it comes to elections, many are taken from Togo to Ghana to vote…some Ghanaians also cross to come and vote in Togo and no action has been taken against them…,” he said.
According to him, his party, has been protesting against the current Togolese register and that led to the intervention of President John Mahama, then ECOWAS Chairman, days before the 2015 Togo election.

“It is the same register we protested against which made the Ghanaian President, John Mahama come to intervene before our elections,” he said. He said the opposition leaders have been protesting against the cross-border votes in Togo and hence called on Ghanaians to also help find an antidote to the ‘menace’.


source: adomfmonline.com