Accra, Ghana – Tuesday, July 1, 2020,/ https://africanpostonline.com/ The 2020 General Elections of Ghana draw closer by the day, tension and friction between parties and election regulatory bodies’ increases and citizens strive to get their names captured in the new voters register.
The government deployed military and other security agencies to the Volta and Oti Regions ahead of the compilation of the new voters register.
The opposition party and some citizens have taken a staunch position in the matter.
In an attempt to ease the mind of citizens and the opposition and at the same time defend their actions, two leading members of the party in power K.T Hammond (Member of Parliament for Adansi-Asokwa) and Ambrose Dery (Interior Minister) both offered very different views which have been described as contradictory by a section of the citizens.
K.T Hammond says it is an attempt to curb the practice of over-voting, double registration and ensure that only Ghanaians are registered.
The question many Ghanaians are asking is, does over-voting and double registration happen only in the Volta and Oti Regions?
Ambrose Dery, on the other hand, says that the military and the security agencies present are only there as a measure to prevent more importation of the novel COVID-19 virus. According to him, the deployment is not something new because it can be traced back to the initial stages of the virus.
The action of the government to deploy the military to the Volta and Oti Regions regarded as a stronghold for the main opposition, National Democratic Congress provoked tribal sentiment among Ghanaians.
Some Ghanaians asserted that the conditions surrounding the deployment do not support the propositions presented to the public by both officials of the NPP and the government.
The opposition believes that the military presence will intimidate voters and deter many from registering.
Tribalism
The event has led to tribal comments amongst Ghanaians. This in effect throws light on an aspect of tribal politics in Ghana. Logic and evidence should be the basis for addressing the issue instead of tribalism. The question is whether or not some people from Togo who are not Ghanaians find ways and means to register and vote in Ghana?
Some of the residents alleged that sometimes, some people from Togo vote in Ghana and are not Ghanaians with the right to vote. They claim that it affects their voting results.
One very critical issue to tackle is whether or not the government engaged the people of the Volta and Oti Regions before deploring the military? This would have prevented tribal views and rage.
Ghana must avoid political tension and pressure based on tribalism as the country draw closer to the general elections in December this year, coupled with the novel COVID-19 which the country is battling.
Source: Renate Dzodzomenyo -African Post Online
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Edem is a writer and loves to read. He believes that writing is an instrument of expression and an advocator of ideologies that can cause significant changes to our current dispensation and the future.
