The Central Regional branch of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has vowed to petition the military high command over the transfer of 71 votes of military officers to the Effutu constituency.
The party alleges that the transfer is a ploy by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to intimidate its members during the December 7 elections.
The regional chairman, Prof. Richard Kofi Asiedu, who engaged the media in Kasoa, stated that the 71 military personnel are not residents of the Effutu constituency, and their transfer is a deliberate attempt to influence the outcome of the polls.
He added that the party has the names of the affected officers and will submit them with a petition to the military high command to be expunged from the Effutu constituency voters register.
“In Effutu Constituency, the majority leader and the MP, Hon. Afenyo Markin bussed 71 men clad in military uniform to transfer their votes to Effutu. This has raised a lot of eyebrows in the constituency, considering that the military and other security vote during the special voting exercise which is organised ahead of the general elections.”
“Simply put, such people have their processes done before the general election, so they vote as special voters. We want the Ghana Armed Forces to investigate and come out with a response on these 71 men. The tragedy of Techiman South is still fresh on our minds and the NDC will resist any military interventions that are not seconded or sanctioned by the Military High Command.”
The NDC also raised concerns over the transfer of the Effutu District electoral officer, Ama Akotuah, and alleged that the NPP is conniving with the Electoral Commission (EC) to register dead voters for proxy voting.
The party urged its members to be vigilant and resist any military interventions not sanctioned by the Military High Command.
However, Richard Takyi Mensah, the regional secretary for the NPP denied the allegations, stating that the military personnel have not broken any laws and are entitled to vote in the Effutu constituency if they choose to do so.
He expressed confidence in winning the Effutu seat due to the good works of the Majority Leader, Hon. Afenyo Markin.
“If they’ve not gone against any law and the law allows them to their votes in Effutu Constituency, then I don’t see anything wrong with that. And apart from that, Effutu constituency is a seat that NPP, even when we close our eyes, we’ll win in 2024, due to the good works of the vibrant Majority Leader of the 8th Parliament, Hon. Afenyo Markin.”
