Voter registration violence signals risk for December polls – Peace Council

The National Peace Council has stressed the need to contain the pockets of violence observed at certain centres during the ongoing limited voter registration exercise.

They emphasise that failure to address these incidents could lead to a spillover effect, potentially impacting the integrity of the upcoming December 7 elections.

In an interview with Citi News, George Amoh, the Executive Secretary of the Peace Council said “For us at the peace council, whenever an issue like that comes up, like the one that happened, unfortunately, at some part of the Ashanti Region, are early warning signs, you do not downgrade them.

“You have to carefully assess the potential they have to affect the elections in December. They are signs that we have to sit up but they are not signs to discourage us,” he stated.

Mr Amoh also urged the Electoral Commission to maximise the opportunities available to ensure that more people who qualified get their names registered.

This comes after the Electoral Commission (EC), said that the violence that has characterised the limited voter registration justifies its call for using the Ghana Card as a sole document for registration.

According to the commission, it has observed violence at some centres linked to the challenge of the age and citizenship of some registrants.

However, the commission believes such incidents would have been avoided if the Ghana Card was used as the sole document for the registration.

The Executive Secretary of the council, George Amoh, speaking to Citi News, stressed the importance of utilising existing opportunities to include as many eligible voters as possible who are not yet registered

“What we should be concerned about is how we can contain how we can allow for spillover or not spread in order that we cannot contain it. So, I would like to encourage the Electoral Commission to continue with the processes that it has laid down for all these years to ensure that they get the right people, I mean those who are supposed to be on the register. None should be disenfranchised because of somebody’s issue.

“So, we must maximise the opportunities that we have to get as many people who are yet to be on the register to be on the register. I think that should be the approach of the EC,” he stated.