[ad_1]
The Election Commission (EC) rejected suggestions linking violence and the smooth running of Ayawaso West Wuogon's by-election last Thursday.
The EC stated that the violence took place at the residence of the parliamentary candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and not in a polling station and had not in any way interfered in the conduct of the elections .
Useful links Ghana Politics | Ghana celebrity news | News in Ghana
Speaking at a press conference at its Accra headquarters on Friday, EC President Jean Mensa said the blame should be squarely at the door of the two main political parties rather than from the EC.
Ms. Mensa said that political violence must be condemned in all its forms and that the two political parties of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the NDC must be impressed by all national stakeholders to put an end to the practice of political vigilance .
According to the EC, the president said the poll last Thursday was successful and credible, adding that it was unfortunate that the Coalition of National Election Observers (CODEO) decided to produce a report aimed at putting the credibility of the vote. following the violence in the private residence of the NDC candidate.
Ghana News Titles
For news from Ghana, visit the Graphic Online titles page
Ghana news headlines.
Withdrawal of NDC, security
She also stated that the EC did not know that the NDC had withdrawn from the elections, but that it was rather their agents that they had decided to withdraw, and that such withdrawal had no impact on the success and credibility of the ballot.
For news from Ghana | Ghana Business News | News in Ghana
Ms. Mensa explained that, as usual, the EC informed the police and other sister security agencies of the imminent ballot and requested security that was provided to each of the 137 polling centers.
She added that the deployed security forces were unarmed, friendly and located far from the voting booths and thus did not pose a threat to an elector.
According to her, the appearance of masked and armed men was not part of the security arrangements and the EC themselves were distraught when their presence was reported.
Regardless of this evolution, she said, the exercise went smoothly and the reported results were spotless and highly credible.
Generalized sentence
A number of organizations and personalities have strongly condemned this unnecessary violence in the by-election.
They include the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE), the Coalition of National Election Observers (CODEO), OccupyGhana, former President J. J. Rawlings and Dr. Ransford Gyampoh, expert in governance.
The President of the National Peace Council, Reverend Emmanuel Asante, condemned the violence that erupted in the by-election of Ayawaso West Wuogon, saying that "violence should in no way be practiced in the country.
"The incident that occurred during the by-election at Ayawaso West Wuogon should be unequivocally condemned," he said.
Although the National Peace Council has not yet met following the incident, he said he would not consider any form of violence against anyone who it would be.
Reverend Prof Asante urged the police to "open their eyes", to open a serious investigation into the incident and to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice and held responsible.
"While the police are investigating, the communications department needs to update the public from time to time to avoid speculation," he added.
[ad_2]
Source link
