By Peter Agengre
The District Chief Executive for Kasena Nankana West in the Upper East Region, Gerald Ataogye has vehemently denied the allegation that he would make sure some people produce their Ghana Cards before they are allowed to vote in the Paga Constituency.
“I have never said that. It is not true. I don’t even know where I made that statement. How am I going to do that, because the Ghana Card is not a license to the voter; it’s not true. And whoever concocted that story it is not true.” Mr. Ataogye said.
In a previous publication, the Upper East Regional Chairman of the Inter-Party Dialogue Committee Shaikh Abu-Bakr Sadiq Abdul-Rahaman mentioned the District Chief Executive for Kasena Nankana West Gerald Ataogye of planning to prevent some people from exercising their franchise until they are able to produce their Ghana Cards. According to him, the Electoral Commission got a hint in Paga where the DCE is reported to have said that he would make sure that some individuals do not vote unless they produce a Ghana Card.
Less than 24 hours into the publication after GBCNews made several efforts to engage him proved futile, Mr. Ataogye responded to the publication with this explanation.
“What I said is that the Burkinabes sometimes sneak in to come and vote and cause trouble for us. So we should try to check our borders so that they will not come in to cause trouble for us. At Po (a community ahead of the Paga border) they speak Kasim, and they think they can always be part of our process. For that matter, we should be vigilant so that the Burkinabes will not come and interrupt in our electoral process. I never mentioned any Ghana Card; nothing.” He explained.
According to the DCE, he had an engagement with the District Security Council in Paga in preparation towards the elections. In that meeting, he explained that there should be vigilance on the people across the border.
“They always come in not necessarily to vote ooo. With this terrorist extremist, if we are not careful we can run into danger. I’m not saying if you are a voter, don’t come and vote. I never mentioned anything like. I’m saying that let’s guard the processes so that they don’t come and interrupt our electoral processes especially now that the terrorist activities are on the rise.” He concluded.
Shaikh Abu-Bakr Sadiq Abdul-Rahaman who is also a member of the Upper East Regional Peace Council is happy to hear that such a thing is not the thought of the DCE.
