The Minority in Parliament has criticized the government for allegedly using military forces to scare voters under the pretext of enforcing a newly imposed ban on grain exports, due to a severe drought affecting northern Ghana.
Government imposed an immediate ban on grain exports to safeguard domestic food supplies on August 26, 2024,
Defence Minister Dominic Nitiwul confirmed that military forces have been stationed at the borders to implement this restriction.
However, the Minority has raised concerns, alleging that the military presence might be a covert attempt to suppress voter turnout.
At a press conference in Accra on August 30, 2024, James Agalga, Ranking Member of the Defence and Interior Committee, criticized the absence of a clear timeline for the military’s deployment.
“If they have no ulterior motives, then they ought to have given us timelines,” Mr. Agalga argued.
He continued that: “The fact that there are no timelines gives us reason to suspect that they only used the crisis, related to the drought up north and the potential for us to have some food security challenges, to deploy the military to intimidate voters.”
Mr. Agalga also referenced the military’s role in the 2020 elections to support his argument.
“Otherwise, there should be timelines. We further backed our assertions with what happened in the roundup of the 2020 elections…So our suspicions are justifiable,” he added.