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Follow rules on registering grievances – EC admonishes parties

The Electoral Commission (EC) has admonished political parties to refrain from physically obstructing people from registering in the limited voters’ registration exercise.

According to the EC, “most of the violence that have characterised the registration exercise have resulted from agents, members and supporters of parties, failing to follow the rules on registering grievances”.

Sylvia Annoh, the Communications Officer  of the EC, said so far, the commission had registered “pockets” of violence across the centres where the exercise was taking place, and for the first time, brought in the police to help maintain law and order after it reviewed violence could be recorded at some of the centres.

She noted that clashes recorded so far were not as a result of failure on the part of the EC, but refusal of the parties to follow laid down rules, everything on part of EC was under control.

“We assure the public there will be no discrimination against any political party in the registration exercise, since the commission is not discriminatory against any party, some persons have been arrested for double registration, for attempting to engage in double registration via internet, not knowing it was easy for the commission to detect online.

“Names of those arrested will be released, double registration is a punishable offence which can make a person to be prevented from registering for about five years,” Ms Annoh warned.

The limited voters’ registration exercise commenced on June 17 and will last till July 7, 2019, following dismissal of injunction sought by Umar Ayuba.

In the Ashanti Region, there was a bloody clash at Asawase Constituency, as agents of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC), forced officials of the EC to suspend the ongoing exercise in the area.

 Muntaka Mubarak, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Asawase, has been accused of slapping an activist of the NPP who was preventing him from registering a minor when the supposed victim, Zeinab Jibril reportedly pulled a veil of a lady he had brought to the registration centre on suspicion she may be a minor.

Mr Muntaka was said to have subjected her to severe beatings, an attempt by supporters of NPP to rescue her marred registration process at the polling station, security personnel were deployed to Asokore Mampong Municipal Office of the EC to maintain order following confusion over alleged registration of minors. –peacefmonline.com

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