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Stop the registration centre violence – EC to political parties

The ongoing new voter register being compiled has seen some violence being perpetrated by political parties. Violence at registration centres especially between the ruling NPP and the biggest opposition party, the NDC should be a worry to every forward-looking citizen.

However, the words of Mahatma Gandhi “I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.” should teach us all a lesson before we make the biggest mistakes of our lives in our political history as a nation.

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Violence at registration centres will defeat our national agenda and should be discouraged by all.

To this end, the referee in Ghana’s elections, the Electoral Commission (EC) all political parties to order and asked them to be decorous in the discharge of their duties during the voter registration exercise at all polling stations.

This appeal was put forth by the Electoral Commission (EC) during the second “Let the Citizen Know” press series held on Monday in the capital city, Accra.

The Electoral Commission (EC) called on media houses to use their platforms to communicate the stand of the EC on the violence at registration centres.

The Deputy Chairman in charge of Corporate Affairs at the Commission, Dr Bossman Eric Asare said. “We expect the media to send the message out there to the parties that, they have to conduct themselves very well,”

Mrs Jean Mensah informed the press that officers of the commission on the grounds have been given all the needed training to carry out their duties and have been instructed to refrain from any act of bias in the conduct of their duties as agents of the EC.

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“I am not sure that, our staff will collude with any political party because, they have been given a lot of training and have been empowered to do the right thing,” Mrs Jean Mensah the EC chairperson said.

She also added that she doubted the assertion that the EC officials were colluding with and registering individuals who are crossing or jumping queues.

According to Mrs Jean Mensah, the police have continued to be supportive in ensuring law and order at all the registration centres. This is done in addition to making sure, the COVID-19 safety protocols are observed. It is hopped that the presence of the police will deal with the violence at registration centres which do not promote a healthy process and public safety.

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“We have the challenge system, therefore, if along the way people are brought in and bussed from other communities to a particular registration centre, those people will be challenged, the committee will sit on it and a decision will be taken as to register them or not,” she added.

Sanitizing of the hands of applicants, ensuring fingerprint scanners are cleaned before every new registration is carried out has been well explained and outlined to ensure the EC officers do the right thing.

These and other safety protocols are been adhered to so that, the registration process does not in anyway way become a point of transfer of COVID-19 in Ghana.

The commission has again called on its officers on the field not to compromise or bend the safety rules while performing their duties.

“The Commission as part of anti-COVID-19 protocols instructed officials to sanitise the hands of all applicants before and after every process,” the statement had it.

“Officials have been directed to also clean the fingerprints scanners with a wet wipe after every use during the intensive training organised for them before the exercise began,” the statement added.

The Mrs Jean Mensah led EC has started gathering relevant data to ascertain the truth or otherwise in reports that have suggested that, some registration centres have dropped their safety protocol guard. Culprits will be given the sanctions they deserve, the EC added.