I feel there is fear in the nation and this is why no one is talking - Cheddar

Business magnate and leader of the New Force Movement, Nana Kwame Bediako, popularly called Cheddar, has taken a swipe at the Akufo-Addo government and the Electoral Commission over the limited voters' registration exercise.

The Electoral Commission (EC) on Tuesday, May 7 commenced this year's limited registration exercise which ended on Monday, May 20.

The New Force leader, who also goes by the name "IamFreedom", finds difficulties with this exercise as, to him, it is an attempt to disenfranchise most importantly the youth in Ghana.

According to him, this registration exercise should have been year long instead of the 20 days it lasted.

Cheddar revealed that he has sent a petition to the Electoral Commission and copied it to the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, the National Chief Imam and other relevant stakeholders but his petition has been treated with deafening silence.

To him, the reaction of stakeholders towards his petition depicts abject cowardice on the part of the country's leaders.

"I feel there is fear in the nation and this is why no one is talking," he exclaimed.

Nana Kwame Bediako admonished the EC to revisit their notes and ensure every person who turns 18 years gets the opportunity to register and exercise his or her voting right in the December 7 polls.

"Democracy is what governs our nation, not dictatorship. I want to use this very moment to address this issue in Ghana and I speak not with authority but with decency and politeness that we should help our nation to learn about the kind of democracy in Ghana. And then it shouldn't be politicians that are dictating for the government; the government should stand for the citizens."

"Let us have the right to be able to vote. Let us have the right to be able to register . . . we have the right. We are entitled to vote when we are 18 and we shouldn't be deprived from this opportunity and it takes another four years before we can vote," he asserted in an interview on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" show.