Voter Registration: Police arrest two Togolese for attempting to register in Buem

Police arrest two Togolese for attempting to register in Buem

admin

May 20, 2024 - 19:14

0 4

Voter Registration: Police arrest two Togolese for attempting to register in Buem

Two citizens of Togo are being held by the Jasikan Municipal Police Command for trying to take part in Ghana’s ongoing voter registration campaign.

Sunday, May 19, saw the two taken into custody by National Security agents, who then turned them over to the police for additional legal proceedings.

Sunday, the suspects were allegedly led to the Jasikan Municipal Registration Centre by officials of a local political party, according to statements made to the media by National Security officers.

The political leaders of the Buem Constituency, they further said, were in the police station trying in vain to obtain bail for the two suspects following their detention.

This comes after two Nigerians were arrested in a similar incident at Asokore Mampong in the Ashanti Region last week.

They were detained because they were unable to persuade the police and officials of the Electoral Commission of the reason they were trying to register even though they were not citizens of Ghana.

The Electoral Commission (EC) has issued a warning to political parties, instructing them to desist from sending minors or foreign nationals to registration facilities through their regional and constituency executives.

Deputy Electoral Commissioner Dr. Bossman Asare emphasized the importance of political parties in upholding a genuine register while speaking to reporters in Accra on May 13.

“We keep hearing about allegations that certain political party members are pressuring children and foreign nationals to register to vote… We implore the political parties’ national leadership to dissuade their regional and constituency executives from bringing minors and foreigners to the registration centres. The Commission’s goal has always been to establish a reliable registration for the 2024 elections.

“We think the political parties, who are the primary players in the general elections, have to be committed to assisting with a reliable registration as well. As a result, we consider it wholly unacceptable that political parties are attempting to undermine the nation’s electoral system by endorsing the registration of foreign nationals and children,” he continued.