The thuggery must stop
The Limited Registration exercise to get young people who turned 18 as well as those who could not register during the last exercise in 2014 is entering its last stages, with the programme ending this Sunday, May 8.
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The reports that came in as well as those which continue trickling in indicate that the exercise has not been all that smooth.
Currently, there are complaints by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) about some breaches in the exercise.
They complained of intimidation by hired thugs, with complicity of party officials and government appointees in some instances.
These incidents have heightened tension in some of the centres, which portends danger in the upcoming election in November.
There have been reports of assault and political orchestration which could expose the electorate to danger because such actions have created fear and panic in some of the centres and could adversely affect the willingness of some eligible youngsters to go and register.
My worry is that these frightening reports have not attracted the attention they deserve, especially from the police and other agencies mandated to maintain law and order at these registration centres.
The signals are not very good and if things continue this way we are going to experience a worse scenario on November 7, when the President and parliamentarians are expected to be elected.
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What is happening across the country should not be glossed over by the Electoral Commission (EC), security agencies, political parties and other stakeholders who I believe have been carrying out daily assessment of the situation on the ground to identify the flaws in the exercise which need quick redress to avert compounding the situation.
It is unacceptable for this beloved country of ours, which prides itself as the best country in sub-Sahara Africa with enviable democratic credentials, to be experiencing these chaos and lawlessness during a mere registration exercise.
I think we have come of age and should not be going through these kind of problems.
Whatever it takes for the EC, security agencies and political parties to sanitise the system and make the process look clean must be encouraged in order to respond quickly to the cries of the people by dealing ruthlessly with the errant ones.
Besides, what we expect from the EC and the other stakeholders in this exercise is for them to crack the whip.
The National Peace Council (NPC), the Christian Council of Ghana and other civil society groups should speak out and condemn these acts of intimidation and excessive abuse of power.
The NPC should not limit itself to condemning provocative utterances made by politicians, but must come out boldly and name and shame those who are facilitating this unruly behaviour which could possibly cause mayhem in this country.
Apart from the violent behaviours of recruited thugs in the ongoing exercise, the EC must also be concerned about the issues raised by the university communities over the inadequate registration centres and increase the number on the various campuses to get the eligible students registered.
Whatever it takes to ensure that every qualified person is captured during this exercise should be the priority of the EC. Nobody should be left out.
Additionally, the EC should ensure that senior high school students as well as those in second-cycle institutions who are eligible to vote in the November elections are enfranchised to enable them exercise their franchise in the upcoming elections.
It is the expectation of all and sundry that the EC cultivates a listening ear and addresses issues promptly to erase all the doubts people have about the sincerity of the commission in conducting free, fair and transparent elections.