By Edward Acquah, GNA
Accra, May 13, GNA – The Ghana Union Movement (GUM) has appealed to the President to issue an Executive Instrument for the retrieval of all civilian guns ahead of the December 7 presidential and parliamentary elections.
The Party proposed that the retrieval should cover both registered and unregistered guns as part of broader measures to ensure peaceful elections.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Reverend Christian Kwabena Andrews, the Founder and flag bearer of GUM, said the incidence of violence recorded at some polling stations should be a wake-up call for the country.
He said the absence of robust gun-control measures should be a matter of concern and appealed to political parties to resort to appropriate structures to resolve their grievances to safeguard the peace of the country.
“I appeal to the President and even Parliament to pass a law to retrieve all guns except those of the military. We do not want anyone to go to the polling station wielding guns on December 7.
“This election should be peaceful and one of the ways to ensure that is to make sure that people do not get access to guns.” Rev. Andrews said.
The GUM condemned the pockets of violence that had characterised the ongoing voters’ registration exercise and rallied all political parties and stakeholders to exercise restraint and respect the rules governing the exercise.
Reverend Andrews described as worrying the disturbances which occurred at Kukuom in the Ahafo Region during the ongoing Limited Voter Registration Exercise, leading to the injury of one person.
“If people can carry machetes to a registration centre then that is very dangerous and we should all condemn and stand up against such violent acts,” he said and appealed to the Police to take swift action against the perpetrators.
“If we fail to deal with the issue head-on and punish the perpetrators severely, people would be emboldened to do worse things during elections and we do not want that to happen.” Rev. Andrews added.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Police Service has condemned violent incidents recorded at some registration centres in the ongoing limited voter registration exercise, which commenced on Tuesday, May 7, 2024.
In a statement, the Police said it had made several arrests at various registration centres nationwide.
“The Police will like to remind the public that the registration exercise is a civic responsibility that must be attended to in a civil manner.
“It is in this regard that we will like to caution the public to exercise maximum restraint and act in accordance with the laws governing the registration process,” the Police said.
GNA