The Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) is pressing the Electoral Commission (EC) to ensure the prosecution of individuals arrested for inciting violence during the ongoing limited voter registration exercise.
Numerous instances of violence have marred registration centres across various regions, including Kukuom in the Ahafo Region, Adugyama in the Ashanti Region, and Cape Coast in the Central Region.
The National Coordinator at CODEO, Albert Arhin, stressed the importance of prosecuting these individuals, citing it as a crucial deterrent against similar actions in the future.
Mr Arhin at a press conference on Tuesday, May 14, emphasised that the failure to take legal action would only encourage other individuals to engage in similar disruptive behaviour during electoral processes.
He urged security agencies to take swift action in apprehending and prosecuting those responsible for the disturbances, emphasizing the need for impartiality and diligence in the process.
“The culprits, those who indulge in these election malpractices, are to be punished. And the citizenry should see that these people are punished.
“The moment you just make a wishy-washy kind of arrest, then we don’t hear anything again, people will always want to do it again. So when we arrest them, let us prosecute them so that it serves as a deterrent to others.”
“If we don’t punish, people will think that it is something that everybody can do and they will go on committing and committing and committing these daily mistakes,” he said.
Additionally, the Electoral Commission (EC) has echoed a similar sentiment, urging the Ghana Police Service to ensure that individuals responsible for the disruptions are brought before the court for legal action.
