St. Peter’s Methodist Church in Odorkor is considering withdrawing as a collation centre in future elections, following violent incidents during the Ablekuma North parliamentary rerun on Friday, July 11.
The church’s overseer, Rev. Ebenezer Kofi, announced the decision, citing safety concerns and damage to property caused by political tensions.
This follows Friday’s chaotic scenes when a group of unidentified macho men stormed the polling station at St. Peter’s, disrupting the process and violently assaulting key political figures, including New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate Nana Akua Afriyie and former Fisheries Minister Hawa Koomson.
The attack caused panic among voters and led to a temporary suspension of voting, with police struggling to restore order despite heightened security in the area. Eyewitnesses described the incident as “well-coordinated and deliberate.”
Speaking in an interview with Citi News on Saturday, July 12, Rev. Kofi confirmed that the church leadership had reached a consensus to formally request the Electoral Commission (EC) and security agencies to relocate both the collation centre and the nearby police post from the church premises.
“A decision has to be taken by the leadership of the church where we will take the collation centre from here, and by extension, we will take the polling station from here to prevent further incidents,” he said.
Rev. Kofi disclosed that the 2024 general elections also left a trail of damage at the church, yet the EC has not offered any form of compensation. “Most of our assets were vandalised and destroyed because of the collation… even yesterday I was told that the residence of one of the ministers was also damaged,” he lamented.
The violence, part of broader tensions during the Ablekuma North rerun, has raised renewed concerns about the safety of public and private institutions used as electoral centres. The rerun, which took place across 19 polling stations, was organised to resolve a protracted electoral dispute stemming from irregularities in the December 7, 2024, elections.
Though the NPP officially boycotted the rerun, its candidate Nana Akua Afriyie defied the directive and contested the election, ultimately losing by a narrow margin to Ewurabena Aubynn of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).