The immediate withdrawal of the heavily armed military personnel from the border towns after the registration exercise in spite of the persistent prevalence of the coronavirus pandemic exposes government’s hypocrisy.
This confirms the claim by the Member of Parliament for the Adansi Asokwa constituency in the Ashante Region Hon K. T. Hammond that, the military deployment to the Volta and Oti Regions was to prevent some Ghanaians considered to be Togolese from voting in the 7th December, 2020 general elections.
Military personnel were captured in the just ended registration exercise questioning, assaulting, harassing and
removing innocent applicants from queues and preventing them from registering. Therefore the claim that, the military presence in Volta and Oti Regions during the registration exercise is not an invasion but for the enhancement and enforcement of the compliance of COVID – 19 protocols and the closure of our borders to prevent illegal entry is doubtful.
This deception does not bolster confidence but erodes the trust people have in leadership, cast doubt on the assurance of a peaceful electoral process and rubbishes the promise of a free, fair and transparent elections.
This divisive act makes the assurance of a peaceful elections rather rhetoric than a commitment. Government should learn to precede the rhetoric with actions to demonstrate its commitment to promote unity and build a peaceful environment before, during and after the 7th December, 2020 elections.
The use of the military in a rather innocuous exercise of compiling the bio data of all Ghanaian eligible voter is not useful in our effort to create a peaceful environment for the development of our democracy.
The wrongful use of the military often results in the unnecessary loss of valuable lives such as the incident that claimed the lives of two innocent Ghanaians in the just ended registration exercise in the Bono Region. The involvement of the military in a simple activity such as a registration exercise to create confusion reduces the respect the institution commands and should be
condemned in no uncertain terms.
The assurance of a peaceful elections must find expression in our actions in
the processes leading to the 7th December, 2020 elections.
Care for Free and Fair Elections Ghana “CARE” GHANA therefore call on government to render an unqualified apology to all Voltarians for disrespecting and subjecting
them to such public ridicule.
Signed
David Kumi Addo,
Executive Secretary “CARE” GHANA.
