The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has raised alarm over the questionable deployment of security forces (military) into Ellembelle Constituency.
The presence of the soldiers, according to the party, has been scarring Ghanaian electorates intending to register in the ongoing registration been conducted by Electoral Commission (EC) for the December polls.
The NDC raised the alarm in a press release issued and signed by the party's Communications Director Kwesi Hanson on Thursday 9th July 2020.
"Our attention has been drawn to the unexplained deployment of a military contingent in the Ellembelle district especially Aiyinase North communities in the Northern part of our district.
"This contingent is purported to be "monitoring" the voter registration exercise.
"We know that the recent deployment of security forces was done along the country's borders and is supposed to either prevent foreigners from entering the country to take part in the registration exercise.
"We find the military deployment very strange because Ellembelle is not situated on any border and there is no risk fof foreigners infiltrating the community to register illegally
"Besides, there is no other imminent security risk that requires the intervention by military forces".
According to the party, since police personnel in the country have already taken positions and were monitoring the exercise, as they do in every elections, they believe strongly that this deployment was only designed to intimidate the residents and potential voters in the area and the reasons identified were very well grounded.
Explaining circumstances surrounding the alarm being raised, the party observed that first, Aiyinase North where majority of the military were deployed has always been the stronghold of the NDC.
"Therefore this certainly can not be any coincidence. Indeed, it is just a show of gratitude by the people in that community, for the joint effort by former President John Mahama and Hon Armah-Kofi Buah ( M.P ) for Ellembelle Constituency to open up and develop what used to be an isolated and deprived part of the constituency.
"Secondly, we suspect that the rationale behind the military deployment is not to maintain peace or security but to intimidate citizens and prevent them from exercising their constitutional right to register and vote."
The NDC identified the following as reasons for the deployment of soldiers to Aiyinase North.
"The DCE of Ellembelle, Hon Kwasi Bonzo doubles as the parliamentary candidate for the NPP. He lost the contest to the NDC candidate in 2016 and he attributed his loss to the voting pattern in Aiyinase North.
"As a contestant in the December elections, he has the zeal to win at all cost and he believes the only way to do so is to limit the number of voters to be cast in that community. By so doing, he hopes to slim down the chance of winning.
"Since Aiyinase North has no history of civil electoral violence and therefore no potential conflict to be prevented, we believe the deployment has only one objective. That objective is to create fear and panic in the local community and dampen the will of the residents to register in their numbers.
"This unannounced deployment has created a very desperate and worrying situation for both adults and children in the district especially, the Aiyinase North community. Majority of the residents are farmers, who earn their living by having to attend to their farms everyday. In the few days, they have abstained from going to their farms because of the uncertainty about why they are suddenly being watched over by intrusive armed soldiers. Even children refusing to go to school out of fear for the unknown.
"The consequences for this deployment could therefore affect the entire community. The restrictions on farming and other economic activities emanating from the residents self-imposed lockdown, could soon lead to food shortages and price hikes that would only exacerbate the hardship they face in their daily lives.
"Under the circumstance, the NDC said they were by this statement calling on government to immediately withdraw the military contingent, since they believe their presence in the community was unnecessary and potentially dangerous," the intimated.
"We also call on the Ghana Arm forces high command to immediately look into this matter and withdraw the soldiers
The constitution guarantees free, fair, and transparent and peaceful elections. That is all we are asking for" the party emphasized.
Below is the press release issued by the NDC
*PRESS RELEASE*
*9th July, 2020*
NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS:
ELLEMBELLE COMMUNICATION SECRETARIAT
HEAVY DEPLOYMENT OF MILITARY FORCES IN THE ELLEMBELLE DISTRICT BY GOVERNMENT UNCONSCIONABLE
Our attention has been drawn to the unexplained deployment of a military contingent in the the Ellembelle district especially Aiyinase North communities in the Northern part of our district.
This contingent is purported to be "monitoring" the voter registration exercise.
We know that the recent deployment of security forces was done along the country's borders and is supposed to either prevent foreigners from entering the country to take part in the registration exercise.
We find the military deployment very strange because Ellembelle is not situated on the border and there is no risk of foreigners infiltrating the community to register illegally.
Besides, there is no other imminent security risk that requires the intervention by military forces.
Since police personnel have already taken positions and are monitoring the exercise, as they do in every elections, we believe this deployment is only designed to intimidate the residents and potential voters in the area and our reasons are very well grounded.
First, Aiyinase North whete majority of the military are deployed has always been the stronghold of the NDC. This is not by coincidence. Indeed, it is just a show of gratitude by the people in that community, for the joint effort by former President John Mahama and Hon Armah-Kofi Buah M.P for Ellembelle Constituency to open up and develop what used to be an isolated and deprived part of the constituency.
Secondly, we suspect that the rationale behind the military deployment is not to maintain peace or security but to intimidate citizens and prevent them from exercising their constitutional right to register and vote.
The following are reasons for our Aiyinase North ;
1. The DCE of Ellembelle, Hon Kwasi Bonzo doubles as the parliamentary candidate for the NPP. He lost the contest to the NDC candidate in 2016 and he attributed his loss to the voting pattern in Aiyinase North.
2. As a contestant in the December elections, he has the zeal to win at all cost and he believed the only way to do so is to limit the number of voters to be cast in that community. By so doing, he hopes to slim down the chance of winning.
3. Since Aiyinase North has no history of civil electoral violence and therefore no potential conflict to be prevented, we believe the deployment has only one objective. That objective is to create fear and panic in the local community and dampen the will of the residents to register in their numbers.
This unannounced deployment has created a very desperate and worrying situation for both adults and children in the district especially, the Aiyinase North community. The majority of the residents are farmers, who earn their living by having to attend to their farms everyday. In the few days, they have abstained from going to their farms because of the uncertainty about why they are suddenly being watched over by intrusive armed soldiers. Even children refusing to go to school out of fear for the unknown.
The consequences for this deployment could therefore affect the entire community. The restrictions on farming and other economic activities emanating from the residents self-imposed lockdown, could soon lead to food shortages and price hikes that would only exacerbate the hardship they face in their daily lives.
We are by this statement calling on government to immediately withdraw the military contingent, since we believe presence in the community is unnecessary potentially dangerous.
We also call on the Ghana Arm forces high command to immediately look into this matter and withdraw the soldiers
The constitution guarantees free, fair, and transparent and peaceful elections. That is all we are asking for.
God bless the NDC, God bless Ghana
Thank you.
Signed
KWESI HANSON
COMMUNICATION OFFICER
ELLEMBELLE
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