It’s disturbing that the voter registration being conducted by the Electoral Commission (EC) to offer eligible Ghanaians the opportunity to vote in the December 7 General Election is degenerating into violence in certain parts of the country.
Voter registration at Top Hill Down Polling Station at Kasoa in the Awutu Senya East Municipality in the Central Region was on Monday disrupted following the firing of gunshots and burning of motorbikes.
The Member of Parliament for the Awutu Senya East Constituency and Minister of Special Development Initiative , Marvis Hawa Koomson, is reportedly at the centre of the controversy that was occasioned by shooting and mayhem at the registration centre.
We wonder why such confusion and violence are happening at some registration centres, when there are laid down procedures to address grievances.
Ghanaian Times will not prejudice the matter as we are aware the Police have made some arrests and we believe the matter is under investigation.
Nevertheless, we are worried that the signals are not too good as we approach the elections.
Tension has started building up in the country and there is urgent need for the security agencies to act and act decisively, and with professionalism.
What happened at Kasoa and other parts of the country in recent times, are enough grounds for us to be concerned about the security of the country.
Ghanaian Times urges the security agencies to step up their intelligence gathering, especially at the hotpots across the country to nip in the bud any problem that is likely to escalate and compromise the security of the country.
We have taken to the path of democracy, which gives us the opportunity to go to polls every four years to elect our political leaders to steer the affairs of our dear country, without recourse to violence.
It behoves us to hold ourselves in high esteem for our democratic dispensation over the past 27 years that has made our country to be described as a beacon of peace and stability in the West Africa sub-region.
We must also guard the peace and stability that we are enjoying in the country.
Ghanaian Times wants to reiterate that violence has no place in any democratic dispensation. Instead the system of government has to do with sharing ideas on how we can govern ourselves in a very peaceful environment.
We have over the years tested and practiced our democracy with considerable success, and we cannot afford to fail on this path.
This is the time to perfect our democratic governance, especially the electoral processes towards ensuring free, fair and credible elections
The international community is watching to see how things will unfold in our country, especially as we are not in normal times due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Already, the pandemic poses a serious threat to our health and security. We cannot afford to lower our guard to allow the processes leading to the polls to ravage our country. Our common enemy is the COVID-19 pandemic.
We must not allow violence to mar our elections. Let’s stop it now before we are over taken by events, by tightening security at the registrations centres!
