The Electoral Commission has condemned acts of violence at some Registration Centres across the country.
According to the EC, the violence is perpetuated by Political Party supporters and sympathizers. The EC statement comes after the Special Initiatives Minister, Mavis Hawa Koomson, admitted that she fired a warning shot at the ‘Step to Christ’ polling station.
“I’m a Member of Parliament, I need to protect myself. It was at dawn; my police escort had not started work yet. So, that is the modus operandi I engaged in his absence,” she told Accra-based Adom FM.
In a statement by the EC such acts during a civil exercise like the Registration of Voters are condemnable and calls on security agencies to investigate the issue as a matter of urgency to bring the perpetrators to book.
Below is the full statement
EC CONDEMNS VIOLENCE AT ITS REGISTRATION CENTRES
The Electoral Commission has noted with concern some acts of violence at some Registration Centres across the country in the form of physical and verbal attacks on its Officials.
The violence is perpetuated by Political Party supporters and sympathizers. One of such incidents occurred today at the Step to Christ Voters Registration Centre in the Awutu Senya East Constituency in the Central Region where unidentifiable gunmen attacked Officials at the Centre and disrupted the process by firing gun shots.
The Commission condemns such acts during a civil exercise like the Registration of Voters and calls on security agencies to investigate the issue as a matter of urgency to bring the perpetrators to book.
These acts constitute a breach of the Vigilante and Related Offenses Act, 2019 Act 999. The Act seeks to disband violent activities of Political Parties and makes political vigilantism an offence punishable by a prison term.
The Commission reminds the public, particularly Political Party agents, that any person who wishes to challenge an Applicant on the basis of ineligibility must fill a Challenge Form, which will then be presented to the District Registration Review Committee for a ruling on the matter.
Political Party agents are therefore cautioned against the use of violence to challenge a person’s eligibility.
The Commission calls on the public to condemn the violence and urges all eligible voters to turn out in their numbers to register to vote in the 2020 General Election.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM
