Lydia Seyram Alhassan
The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) is yet to come to terms with their loss in the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election as the party has called on the Electoral Commission (EC) to annul the results of the exercise.
The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP)
candidate, Lydia Seyram Alhassan, won the by-election held on January 31, 2019.
The process was characterised by some
violent scenes at the La-Bawaleshie JHS polling station where some NDC
supporters were allegedly shot, with the party blaming the NPP for being behind
the shootings.
That notwithstanding, voting still went
ahead and the NPP candidate retain the seat for the party which was previously
occupied by the late NPP stalwart – Emmanuel Kyeremanteng Agyarko.
Although the NDC claimed it had
withdrawn from the exercise, there are documents which proved that the party
did not withdraw from the exercise and its candidate Delali Kwasi Brempong only
managed 5,341 of the total 17,589 votes representing 30.53 per cent.
Barely four days after the election the
NDC, which had earlier claimed it had withdrawn from the race, is calling on
the EC to annul the results of the exercise saying it was conducted under
questionable circumstances.
In a statement issued by the party
yesterday, it said the by-election was conducted in a “warlike environment.”
The statement said the party would not
recognize Lydia Alhassan who won the election by 12,041 votes representing
68.80 percent “since the entire process was a sham.”
“We call on the Electoral Commission
Chairperson to annul the result of the by-election,” the statement said.
The NDC statement also called on the
security agencies to investigate some alleged disturbances at the residence of
the NDC candidate which led to the violence which characterised the by-election
“It is our expectation that appropriate
sanctions would be taken against offenders in order to restore some level of
confidence in the system. Failure to do this, we in the NDC will have no other
option but to meet the NPP boot for boot in any election the Jean Mensa-led EC
will conduct under the NPP and Nana Akufo-Addo government,” the party said.
The statement also wants the National
Security Minister, Albert Kan Dappah, to answer three questions, with the first
one being: “How many National Security operatives were commissioned on the day
to supervise the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election?”
The other question is: How many of them were given weapons and live ammunition? And the third one is: “How many MI6 and AK47 and accompanying ammunition were issued for their operations on the election day, 31st January, 2019?”
BY Gibril Abdul Razak
