President Nana Akufo-Addo has begged Muslims in the country to vote for him in the December 7, 2020 polls if they are pleased with the work he has done in his first term.
“I have come to beg you again for the elevation you gave me during the 2016 general elections, the time has come for you to repeat what you did for me and NPP to continue my vision for the nation,” he pleaded after Juma Prayers at Asawase in the Ashanti Region on Friday, 31 July 2020 as part of the Eid al-Adha celebration during his tour of the area.
“I leave everything to you to be the judge of the work I have done for you and the nation. If you are pleased with the work that I have done so far… then please vote for me to continue my work on December 7, 2020, to give you more for the development of the nation”, he implored the worshippers.
Meanwhile, the President has said he is happy the ongoing voter registration exercise is going on peacefully without anyone being discriminated against.
“One thing that excites me most is that the registration exercise in the Ashanti region and other areas has been very peaceful. I haven’t heard of any person being denied the opportunity to register on grounds that ‘you are not this or what, so, go, we can’t register you’. Every person has the right to go and register.
“What I have heard is that the exercise is going on smoothly in Asawase and Asokore-Mampong. We thank God for that. That is the most important thing to us all to leave in unity and peace”.
Former President John Mahama on Saturday accused the President of using the military to frustrate people of the Volta region and non-Akans from registering in the ongoing voter registration exercise.
In a statement, Mr Mahama said: “This is not the Ghana our forebears toiled for and built!”
“Each and every successive President”, he noted, “left a peaceful, stable and united country”.
However, he observed, “The road President Akufo-Addo is taking our beautiful country through, using the military and party thugs to stop people from exercising their right to register and vote in the upcoming December elections, is dangerous and unacceptable”.
He alleged: ‘There have been many reports and video evidence, like the one in this post, of the President’s deployment and discriminatory use of soldiers to target our brothers and sisters in the Volta Region and wherever there are settlements of Voltarians and non-Akans”.
The flag bearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) said: “Executive power must not be used to foment ethnic discrimination and abuse as is happening under Nana Akufo-Addo”.
“These calculated acts of ‘dehumanisation, disenfranchising Ghanaians and stripping them of their citizenship’ must end”, he insisted.
He promised: “They will surely never happen under a new NDC administration because we will foster a spirit of peace and unity in our nation”.
As Commander-in-Chief, Mr Mahama pledged, “I will not use our military in such a partisan manner to terrorise our own people, and in matters that are purely civil and dwell in the very heart of our constitutional democracy”.
Meanwhile, the Electoral Commission of Ghana has said the exercise has entered its sixth and final phase starting today, Saturday, 1 August 2020.
The exercise ends on Thursday, 6 August 2020.
The election management body has, thus, urged eligible voters who have not yet registered to try and do so.
It said in a statement that it is ensuring strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols at the centres.
"The Commission assures members of the public that it will enforce all the safety protocols at all Registration Centres throughout the country," it added.