Military Deployment: Volta, Ashanti don’t determine who becomes President – NDC to govt

A member of the National Democratic Congress’ communication team, Kweku Owusu Banahene has said that Government is wasting its time and efforts in deploying the military to the Volta Region as a way of disenfranchising the people.

According to him, votes from the Volta Region and the Ashanti Region do not determine who becomes the president of the country.

In an interview with Kwame Afrifa on the ‘Epa Hoa Daben’ show, he stated: “It is not the Volta Region and the Ashanti Region that determines who becomes the president. It is the Central and the Brong Ahafo Regions that give votes.
Those two regions have the swinging voters who when they vote in your favour, you become the president. So while you are targeting the Volta Region, the Central region is working against you. The Brong Ahafo is working against you. Look at those places, when it sinks you will lose power”.

Comparing Ketu South in the Volta Region to the Bantama and Dome Kwabenya constituencies, Kweku Banahene noted that the Government has been fair to the Ketu South constituency.

“Ketu South is just one constituency. Bantama constituency was recording over a hundred thousand voters until they split the constituency into three. So how is it possible for their votes to overtake Ketu South’s votes that have not been divided? We always make this calculation. People don’t understand because of hatred.

Why is it that when Dome Kwabenya votes for you, you say the numbers are good. But you are challenging Ketu South. There is movement of people in border towns everywhere. Recently when the Nigerians closed their border, were there not some Ghanaians who were stranded at the Aflao border? So if today such people want to register at Aflao, what would you say?”

While the NDC has claimed that deployment of military men at the borders is to disenfranchise people for the December polls, President Akufo-Addo has said the military deployments at the country’s borders are not in any way intended to intimidate or prevent eligible Ghanaians from registering to vote in December.

He said “they are there for their express purpose, which is to guard our borders. That is the limit of their remit, and they will not be permitted to stray beyond that remit.”