EC goes ahead with Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election despite NDC withdrawal
The Electoral Commission (EC) on Thursday said it would go ahead with the Ayawaso West Wuogon Parliamentary by-election despite the announcement by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) that it has withdrawn its Mr Delali Kwasi Brempong, its candidate from the race.
Mr Kwame Amoah, the Greater Accra Regional Director of the EC, told the Ghana News Agency, in an interview that, though the Commission had not received any official communication to that effect from Mr Brempong, per the rules of the game, a candidate could only withdraw from a race, prior to the election.
Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, Chairman of the NDC told journalists that the Party came to the decision in consultation with its candidate following the outbreak of violence at the La Bawaleshie Presbyterian Primary One A Polling Station; and alleged attacks on the residence of their candidate by some men in black ‘T’ shirts labelled Nsc, before 0800 hours on, Thursday.
Mr Ofosu-Ampofo alleged that eight of their members were injured with two of them being in critical condition.
But, the Police has put the number of injured at six, and the severely wounded at one.
Mr Ofosu-Ampofo alleged that the presence of some members of the security unit, which was involved in the incident at the other polling stations, was intimidating to their agents.
Mr Amoah said the skirmishes led to the disruption of voting at the Bawaleshie Presbyterian One Polling Station for about 45 minutes, but it has since resumed.
He said, his tour of the other 136 polling stations in the Constituency indicated that voting was going on peacefully.
Meanwhile, the Greater Accra Regional Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Afia Tenge, explained that their checks at the hospitals revealed that six persons were injured from the confrontation, with one person, who sustained a gunshot wound in the leg, being referred to the Korle- Bu Teaching Hospital.
She said the Police were investigating the matter to unravel what accounted for the incident.
Four candidates are officially contesting the poll to replace Mr Emmanuel Kyeremanteng Agyarko, who passed on in November, 2018.
They are Ms Lydia Seyram Alhassan of the New Patriotic Party, Mr William Dowokpor of the Progressive People’s Party and Mr Clement Boadi of the Liberal Party of Ghana.
The NPP has won the seat since Ghana’s Fourth Republic was inaugurated, except for 1992, when it did not contest.
Source: GNA