Producing fake ballot papers and thumb-printing them in order to disrupt the December polls is audu K crime which should be placed in the same category as a coup d’état, and perpetrators of that act should be punished severely, a former military officer, Captain Ebenezer Budu Koomson (rtd), has suggested.

He was of the view that the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana and security agencies must strive to assure Ghanaians and the international community that they can handle any issue to prevent any chaos during the December 7 polls.

He was reacting to the discovery of some fake ballot papers in the Ashanti Region. News broke Monday morning that the opposition New Patriotic Party’s chairman in the Ashanti Region, Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, had led police officers and journalists to a room at Madison Lodge at TUC, Kumasi, where three bags containing ballot papers, all thumb-printed for President John Mahama, the governing National Democratic Congress’ presidential candidate, were found.

However, Ashanti regional police commander, COP Kofi Boakye, said information received indicated that there were more of the “fake” thumb-printed ballot papers.

“We’ve just been informed that there are more somewhere, so we’ve provided security detail for some journalists to move in with the police to retrieve the said ballot papers so that we can examine those as well,” he said on Monday.

But the security analyst believed more should be done to arrest the brains behind the act and apply tough sanctions to serve as deterrent.

“It’s a fake ballot paper and it’s not a problem? Especially in somebody’s stronghold? Anybody who is trying to subvert the sovereign will of the state should be punished so severely it will deter others. It should be raised to the level of sabotage. The offence should be raised so high just like when you are trying to make a coup,” he said in an interview on Joy News’ PM Express on Monday, December 5.


Source: Ghana/ClassFMonline.com