Kumawu: NDC’s Kwasi Amankwaa condemns arrests during limited registration

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate for Kumawu in the Ashanti Region, Kwasi Amankwaa, has kicked against the arrest of some young men and women who were on their way to take part in the ongoing limited voters registration exercise.

According to reports, the teenagers numbering between 15 and 20 were put behind bars after some police officers stopped their vehicle and questioned them about where they were heading as a group.

Sources say more than 15 of the young men were left in police cells overnight and were being kept as of Friday afternoon despite the intervention of some executives of the NDC in the district.

Speaking to Kwame Minkah, the host of Dwaboase on TV XYZ, Mr Amankwaa who is out of the country at the moment said he was disappointed in the police for intimidating the young lads who have the right to be registered in the ongoing process opened to them by the Electoral Commission (EC).

He argued that there was nothing wrong with some political parties busing eligible persons from different areas of the constituency to the District Office of the EC where the only exercise was ongoing within the constituency.

The parliamentary candidate for the NDC affirmed that those arrested were part of some teenagers the party was helping to get access to the exercise which was far from their villages.

“I spoke to my organisers yesterday and today about the issue and am sad about the whole scenario. These young guys had just turned 18 and were on their way to the registration centre as mandated by the constitution. They are from Bawdwiase and Asesewa areas within the constituency,” Amankwaa explained.

Condemning the arrest which he described as unfair, he charged the District Police Commander whom he alleged was present when the arrest happened to release the young men immediately.

“We see this arrest to be some form of intimidation so that some persons can be prevented from registering with the EC. If you arrest people because they did not answer your questions as expected, it will deter others from also taking part in the registration process,” he added.

The registration of new voters ahead of the District Level Elections began on Tuesday, September 12, 2023, and is expected to end on Monday, October 2, 2023.

The Electoral Commission is hoping to register 1,350,000 new voters by the close of the registration exercise this year.