Military Deployment: Why target Voltarians and Otis? – Franklin Cudjoe quizzes govt

President of IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe, has questioned government’s motive over the alleged deployment of the military to the Volta and Oti Regions in a bid to prevent non-Ghanaians from taking part in the new voters' registration exercise.

Government is reported to have deployed an additional number of security personnel in the aforementioned regions which has raised major concerns among residents of Ketu South.

According to the locals, the situation has caused fear and panic following allegations of abuse and intimidation.

In a related development, the Minority has condemned the move by the government describing it suspicious and undemocratic.

Minority spokesperson on Defence and Interior, James Agalga, addressing the press in Parliament, accused the government of using the soldiers as a cover-up to intimidate residents in the region as well as prevent them from participating in the upcoming new voters' registration exercise.

But Member of Parliament for Adansi-Asokwa, K.T. Hammond, in government’s defence, claimed the military is only there to "control the country’s borders" to ensure foreigners do not sneak in to include their names in the new register.

“The military is there to make sure you vote if you are a Ghanaian and if you have the constitutional right to vote. That’s all there is. They are not electoral officers but they are peacekeeping forces. They are keeping the peace.” He said.

It is on this backdrop that Franklin Cudjoe via his Twitter account, further queried the government’s intention while pointing out that the country’s closed borders due to the coronavirus pandemic is enough reason to not deploy military personnel to the said areas.

His tweet read, "I thought the country's borders are shut! Where from this ethnocentric-induced paranoiac state-sponsored targeting of Voltarians and Otis? Are the Military now certifiers of citizenship?"

Meanwhile, Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has charged colleagues from the Volta caucus to throng the Ketu South municipality.

Announcing his intention to lead a delegation to the area on Monday, June 29, 2020, Mr. Ablakwa wrote on his Facebook that the move is to “stand in solidarity with the oppressed and we stand in readiness to confront and defeat bigotry.”

The development has since sparked some social media outrage with some worried over the ruling government's intention and ethnocentric bias to "intimidate and suppress voters" ahead of the December 2020 polls.