Soldiers reject proxy voting

It is turning out that many soldiers serving on peacekeeping missions abroad are reluctant to exercise their franchise in the impending general election.

A few of them are said to have reluctantly given their voter ID particulars to the military hierarchy for onward transmission to the Electoral Commission (EC) to prepare the special voting register.

According to information, they have been reluctant because during the 2012 general election, the military hierarchy reportedly changed their proxies and made other people to vote for them instead.

DAILY GUIDE understands that about 80% of the soldiers did not respond to signals sent to the various units on peacekeeping to submit details of their voter identity cards because of the way they were denied the right to select their preferred candidates in 2012.

“The authorities selected the proxies and rejected the people they asked to represent them on voting day. What is the guarantee that those picked will vote for the preferred candidates of the soldiers?” a source queried, adding, “All these are happening because of one person’s unbridled quest for power.”

Election Ambulances

There are also reports that about 60 ambulances have been assembled at the Air Force Base, Burma Camp, Accra, and they are reportedly going to be used for special operation on election day.

Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin Central, Kennedy Ohene Agyepong, made the revelation recently when he alleged that the ambulances were going to be used to smuggle stuffed ballot boxes and other election-related materials by the NDC in collaboration with the military on voting day, adding that it forms part of the ruling party’s agenda to re-elect President Mahama by any means.

Strange Request

At a time when some soldiers are said to have refused to submit their voter particulars for the special voting exercise on December 1, the police administration is reportedly in a behind-the-scenes move with the EC to introduce more names into the already-compiled special voter list, raising questions about the commission’s neutrality.

The move has already raised eyebrows and further put in doubt the EC’s neutrality ahead of the December 7 crucial elections since the political parties are said not to have been consulted about the intended action.

With only 10 days to the special voting and with the EC already releasing 65,000 people as eligible special voters to all the parties, the police administration has written to the commission to key in more names of recruits in training to enable them to exercise their franchise in the special exercise.

The recruits are said to be close to 2,000 and are coming from police training institutions in Pwalugu (Upper East), Ho (Volta), Koforidua (Eastern), Kumasi (Ashanti) and Accra (Greater Accra).

The IGP, in a wire message sent to police formations – a copy of which is available to DAILY GUIDE – asked commanders to liaise with EC district officers to virtually compile a new list of special voters – when the exercise had long been closed – and the request when granted, would be a clear breach of C.I. 94, the instrument being used to regulate the December 7 general election.

Parties Stranded

Clearly, it is being done at the blind side of the political parties because the EC released a list of 65,000 possible voters for the special voting.

Head of Communication at the EC, Eric Kofi Dzakpasu, recently gave the breakdown as 871 for media personnel, 23,567 for security services and 40,563 election officials, and as far as C.I. 94 is concerned, the application to be entered on the list of special voters has been determined and concluded as far back as October 28, 2016 – 42 days to polls day.