Minority accuses government of allegedly intimidating voters over grain export ban 

The National Democratic Congress Minority Caucus in Parliament has accused the government of using military personnel to allegedly intimidate voters in the name of enforcing a recently imposed grain export ban. 

This accusation comes in the aftermath of a drought in the country’s northern regions. 

On Monday, August 26, the government declared an immediate ban on grain exports.  

Mr. Dominic Ntiwul, Minister of Defence, stated that military personnel had been dispatched to enforce the ban at the country’s borders. 

However, the Caucus expressed concerns about the government’s true intentions, alleging that the deployment was intended to suppress votes. 

Mr. James Agalga, the Ranking Member of the Defence and Interior Committee, speaking to the Parliamentary Press Corps in Parliament on Friday, said: “If they have no ulterior motives, they should have given us timelines. The lack of timelines leads us to believe that they only used the crisis, which is related to the drought in the north and the possibility of some food security challenges, to deploy the military to intimidate voters.” 

“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. 

Source: GNA