The Minority in Parliament has accused government of deploying military personnel to intimidate voters under the guise of enforcing a recently declared ban on grain exports, amid a severe drought affecting the northern regions of Ghana.
On Monday, 26 August 2024, government announced an immediate ban on grain exports to secure domestic food supplies.
Defence Minister Dominic Nitiwul confirmed that military personnel had been stationed at the country’s borders to enforce this ban.
However, the Minority has raised doubts about the government’s true intentions, suggesting the deployment may be a covert attempt to suppress voter turnout.
At a press conference in Accra on Friday, 30 August 2024, James Agalga, Ranking Member on the Defence and Interior Committee, challenged the absence of a clear timeline for the military presence.
“If they have no ulterior motives, then they ought to have given us timelines,” Mr. Agalga argued.
He continued that: “The fact that there are no timelines gives us reason to suspect that they only used the crisis, related to the drought up north and the potential for us to have some food security challenges, to deploy the military to intimidate voters.”
Mr. Agalga further cited the military’s involvement during the 2020 elections to bolster his claims.
“Otherwise, there should be timelines. We further backed our assertions with what happened in the roundup of the 2020 elections…So our suspicions are justifiable,” he added.
Source:classfmonline.com