[ 2016-11-21 ]

Don’t stop Ghanaians in Togo from voting: IGP
Ghana’s police chief John Kudalor has told
security personnel along Ghana’s borders not to
frustrate Ghanaians living in Togo from crossing
over to vote in the 7 December polls.

Addressing journalists during a day’s visit to
the Volta Region, which is known to be the
stronghold of the governing National Democratic
Congress (NDC), the Inspector General of Police
said: “I don’t think the Togolese have any
mandate to come and vote here, but you know the
long-standing history between the Volta Region and
Togo. All that we are saying is that any Ghanaian
is free to stay anywhere and work. So, if you are
even living outside the African continent and you
are duly registered and your papers are ready, you
can fly in, nobody can stop you at the airport. In
the same wise, if you find yourself in a country
within our borders, I don’t think anybody should
be prevented.”

“The security agency would ensure that everybody
who is supposed to vote or who is to have easy
access to and from the country across the borders
[is] … allowed to vote. If you have any problem
with anybody, it should be at the polling station;
to see that he is not duly registered, he is
coming to be an imposter or unlawfully voting.

The IGP’s concerns about Ghanaians in Togo
taking part in the country come just a day after
the presidential candidate of the main opposition
New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akufo-Addo
appealed to Togolese to stay off Ghana’s
elections.
Speaking to party supporters in Aflao in the Volta
Region, which shares borders with Togo, Mr
Akufo-Addo, who speaks very fluent French, told
citizens of the francophone West African country
that they can support Ghana’s democratic process
by staying away from Ghana’s elections.

The NPP has always accused the governing National
Democratic Congress (NDC) whose stronghold is the
Volta Region, of constantly smuggling Togolese
into Ghana’s jurisdiction to vote during
elections.

The people of the Volta Region share a common
language (Ewe) with the Togo while a lot of
Ewe-speaking Ghanaians also crisscross the border
for daily business activities. Some of them too
have families on either side of the border. It is,
therefore, difficult to distinguish between a
Togolese and a Ghanaian from that part of the
country. The situation has, thus, given rise to
intense suspicion between the NDC and the NPP,
especially in every election year and 2016 has not
been any different.

Earlier this year, the vice-presidential candidate
of the NPP, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, said Ghana’s
electoral roll was contained the names of about
76,000 Togolese smuggled into the country by the
NDC to register as Ghanaians so they could take
part in the elections. The NDC has constantly
demanded evidence from Dr Bawumia in connection
with that allegation.

The NPP also recently launched a campaign dubbed
“operations eagle eye” that aims to stop all
Togolese from taking part in Ghana’s elections.

Source - Classfmonline

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