Accra, July 20 GNA – The Electoral Commission (EC) has expressed concern over acts of violence perpetrated by political party supporters at some registration centres.
A statement issued by the Commission and copied to the Ghana News Agency said the acts, in the form of physical and verbal attacks on EC Officials were obstructing the registration process.
It cited the incident at the Step to Christ Voters Registration Centre in the Awutu Senya East Constituency in the Central Region where unidentifiable gunmen reportedly attacked the officials at the Centre and disrupted the process by firing guns.
The statement said the acts were condemnable during a civil exercise such as the Registration of Voters and called on security agencies to investigate the issue as, a matter of urgency, and bring the perpetrators to book.
“These acts constitute a breach of the Vigilante and Related Offenses Act, 2019 Act 999. The Act seeks to disband violent activities of Political Parties and makes political vigilantism an offence punishable by a prison term,” it emphasised.
The statement reminded the public, particularly, political party agents,that any person who wished to challenge an applicant based on ineligibility must fill a challenge form, which would then be presented to the District Registration Review Committee for ruling.
It said it was, therefore, not only unnecessary but unlawful to resort to violence to challenge any person’s eligibility.
The Commission called on the public to condemn such acts and urged all eligible citizens to go out in their numbers to register to vote in the 2020 General Election.
GNA