The National Democratic Congress in the Ashanti region has issued of a barrage of stern warnings to the Ghana Police Service and the Electoral Commission to be fair in its dealings with the NDC.
According to the party, the Commission and the Police have not treated their party agents and members who come to the Registration centres since its inception to register for the new voters’ ID card fairly.
They cited instances where their agents where subjected to beatings by officials of the Ghana Police Service over claims of them been foreigners and illegally keeping them in Police custody.
“First of all, it is instructive to note that, the Sekyere Afram Plains Constituency has been a seat for the NDC since its creation in 2012 and has traditionally not been a hotspot in any electoral activity. Surprisingly, the District Security Council, chaired by the DCE who is also the Parliamentary Candidate for the NPP has decided to tag the Constituency as a hotspot for violence. On Tuesday 30th of June 2020, the Police arrested two (2) agents of the NDC over their decision to challenge persons they suspected to be ineligible to register at the Presby Primary School Centre, Drobonso. Upon their arrest, they were battered by the Police, contrary to Article 15 (2) of the 1992 Constitution and detained for 3 days. It is sad to state that both of them sustained various degrees of injuries, but they were denied medical support while in unlawful Police custody. It took the intervention of the regional leadership of the NDC to secure bail for them on the third day of their arrest contrary to Section 15 (1) of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1960 (Act 30).
In the same Sekyere Afram Plains Constituency, conflicting with the lawful procedure of challenging an applicant who is suspected to be ineligible by picking and completing a challenge form, on Thursday the 9th of July 2020, 15 registrants were arrested by the Military at the Sekyere Afram Plains District office of the EC on the instructions of the DCE that they were suspected foreigners, sadly, they were beaten severely by the Military and later locked up at the Drobonso Police Station. We request that the military officers that assaulted these young men be taken through the necessary disciplinary procedure and punished accordingly.”
The NDC in the Ashanti region also noted that the Police hasn’t been proactive and is currently being machinery used by the government to execute its diabolic agenda of harassing law-abiding citizens.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the media, on the 6th of July 2020, the incumbent Member of Parliament for the Ejura Sekyedumase Constituency, Hon. Muhammed Bawa Braimah was physically attacked without provocation by thugs on the instructions of the MCE for the Ejura Sekyedumase Municipal Assembly at Ejura – Nkwanta. Some of these known thugs were earlier seen in the official vehicle of the MCE hours to the unfortunate physical attack on the MP. It is sad to state that, but for the timely intervention of the residents of Ejura Nkwanta, the narrative would have been awful. The onslaught on the MP was obviously intended to be lethal without human face. We use this platform to thank the good people of Ejura – Nkwanta for their bravery, timely intervention and show of love. We regret to announce to you that though the perpetrators of this heinous crime are known very well and their names have been duly submitted to the Ejura Police Commander, Sup’t Owusu Bempah, none of them have been arrested as of today, the 14th of July 2020. In a rather bizarre manner, Sup’t Owusu Bempah has elected to refer to these known thugs at every opportunity as unknown assailants. We have subsequently reported the case to the Divisional Police Commander and the Regional Police Commander awaiting action. Ladies and gentlemen of the media, this development has outraged the whole Ejura Sekyedumase Constituency, and for fear of reprisal attacks, the MCE and the entire NPP leadership now monitors the ongoing voter registration exercise with police and military escorts. We wish to inform the Police and the Military that they are rather in breach of every known law and edict in Ghana since they are rather protecting known and suspected assailants and wrongdoers. In Ejura Sekyedumase Constituency, we know where Bala, Afoko, Obour, Baba Wale, Hasanu, Abass, Puutin, Anyars, Alhassan Fuseini, Razaku and others together with their families live, we have only chosen to be law abiding citizens. We are by this medium giving the Ejura District Police Command 72 hours to arrest those we have named”.
The party warned the Police and Electoral Commission to take action or else their members and followers will take the law into their hands to fight for their justice.
“We are not whiners and we do not enjoy rehashing the same ills all the time with the hope of corrections being effected. We, however, lead people whose ways of expressing their frustration are varied. We, therefore, call on the Police to do the needful where applicable and the EC to be fair as mandated to prevent our followers from being human when injustice and evil triumphs longer than usual. Notwithstanding all these challenges, we call on all our members and the many suffering Ghanaians to turn up in their numbers and register peacefully in the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 2nd phases of the voter registration exercise”.