Day: May 13, 2024

Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the flag bearer and Presidential Aspirant for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has called on religious bodies to support him with prayers to become victorious in the 2024 election.

Dr Bawumia made the call at Techiman in the Bono Region as part of his nationwide campaign in a separate meeting with the religious bodies, the Muslim community, Bono East traditional leaders, the youth wing of NPP, traders at Techiman market and artisans at Magazine.

He asked the religious groups, the clergy, and Muslim and traditional leaders to intensify their prayers for peaceful and fair elections as well as for his bid to become the next President. 

Dr  Bawumia stated that the religious tolerance in the country had endeared the nation to many, particularly on the issue of peace, adding that the NPP party would collaborate with all stakeholders during and after the election to sustain the peace of the nation.

He outlined the achievements and policies of the NPP, saying he would exceed his previous achie
vements by creating a digitalized economy, introducing the flat tax system and realigning the import duty regime.

Mr. Dan Kweku Botwe, the National Campaign chairman for Dr. Bawumia’s election campaign team, hinted that the collaborations, which the party sought to create with the religious bodies were not solely for political reasons, but because they were prominent institutions in ensuring peace and unity among the people. 

Source: Ghana News Agency

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 on
e 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 incid
ents 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.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The second week of the nationwide limited voter registration exercise has begun smoothly in the Hohoe Municipality.

The exercise, which began May 7, was greeted with software and network glitches nationwide delaying the exercise in the Municipality.

Mr. Enoch Danso Agyekum, Hohoe Municipal Electoral Officer, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) the week one had been successful.

He noted that the mobile registration team, which ended its operations at the Alavanyo Senior High Technical School, had not recorded any incidents.

Mr Agyekum said the Team after its two-day exercises moved to Wli Todzi to register eligible registrants.

The Ghana News Agency has also observed that the number of eligible registrants had reduced at the Municipal Office Centre where the exercise is being held as at 1030 hours.

Some new registrants were happy to own voter identity cards.

Security presence at the centre continued to be heavy.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The final funeral rites of former Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of Krachi East, Mr Patrick Charty Jilima, is scheduled for November, this year, at Pai-Katanga near Dambai.

Madam Jennifer Jilima, a family member, disclosed this to the Ghana News Agency (GNA).

She said Mr Jilima who contested twice for parliamentary elections on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) before his appointment in 2017 as MCE, initiated a lot of development projects in the Municipality.

‘He prioritised education and sponsored many children to pursue both basic and tertiary education,’ she said.

The late former MCE passed away at WoraWora Government Hospital on Thursday, May 9, 2024, after a short illness.

The body has been kept at the morgue for preservation.

The late Jilima was survived by a wife and 10 children.

When the Ghana News Agency (GNA) contacted the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of Krachi East, Mr Charles Gyamfi Boateng, he said a high-level government delegation would be represented during the burial serv
ice.

When the family called on him at Pai-Katanga to announce the burial arrangement, Mr Boateng expressed his sympathy to the bereaved family.

He described the late MCE as ‘a good man who dedicated his life to serve his people when he was in office.

‘We really need him here, but as it is often said, God needs good people better than we do; let us therefore pray for his soul.’

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Electoral Commission, as of close of business on Sunday, May 12, 2024, had registered a total of 251,149 new voters, representing a daily average of 45,000.

Out of the total figure, a total of 135, 898 (54.11 per cent) of the registered voters are females, and 115,251 (45.89 per cent) are males.

Addressing a press conference in Accra on Monday, Dr Bossman Eric Asare, Deputy Chairman of the EC in-charge of Corporate Services, said the Commission had also registered 400 persons with disabilities across the country.

Regional breakdown

The Greater Accra region has registered 33,899 voters (13.5 per cent); North East, 6,928 (2.8 per cent); Upper East, 10,646 (4.2 per cent); Northern, 19,491 (7.8 per cent); Bono, 8.972 (3.6 per cent); Bono East, 9, 681 (3.9 per cent); Volta, 12,190 (4.9 per cent); Upper West, 8,474 (3.4 per cent); Eastern, 25, 625 (10.2 per cent); Central, 27, 984 (11.1 per cent), and Ahafo, 6, 273 (2.5 per cent).

The remaining registrations are Ashanti, 44,232 (17.6 per cent), Western Nor
th; 9,134 (3.6 per cent); Oti; 7, 259 (2.9 per cent); Savannah 5, 261 (2.1 per cent); and Western Region, 15,100 (6.0 per cent).

Dr Asare said the first time voters, representing applicants between the ages of 18 and 21 constitute the majority of registered voters across the country, accounting for 221,066 out of the total registered voters within the first six days.

He said in the first five days of the registration exercise, 98, 926 applicants, constituting 39.39 per cent used the Ghana Card, with some 622 applicants, representing 0.25 per cent using the Passport.

Dr Asare said the guarantor system had been used by 151,601 applicants, representing 60.36 per cent.

The EC said out of a total of 2,935 challenges cases, the Greater Accra Region recorded the highest with 524 challenged cases.

‘The guarantor system continues to dominate the forms of identification. This is something the Commission is not proud of because it is used by political parties and certain persons to facilitate the registration of un
qualified persons such as minors and foreigners,’ he said.

Dr Asare said the Commission was hopeful that in future registration exercises, the guarantor system would be the sole identity document to help curb the chaos in registration centres over the ages and nationality of applicants.

The Commission appealed to political parties to desist from using violence to challenge the eligibility of applicants but resort to the appropriate modalities to resolve such cases.

The Commission also appealed to parents to ensure that their children below 18 years did not go to register.

Source: Ghana News Agency