The Director of Communications for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Richard Ahiagbah, has accused the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) of deliberately sidelining state security forces during the Ablekuma North parliamentary rerun and replacing them with party-aligned thugs to intimidate voters.
Speaking in an exclusive interview on Channel One Newsroom on Monday, July 14, Ahiagbah claimed that the government deliberately manipulated the security arrangement around the rerun to instill fear and discourage NPP supporters from turning out to vote.
According to him, the violence recorded during the rerun was not accidental but part of a calculated effort to suppress voter turnout among opposition supporters.
“They know they lost, but somehow they wanted to win, so the only way they can win it is to have this rerun under a certain appearance of security which was not there,” Ahiagbah said. “They allowed their boys to provide security for the election in a way that was intimidating and ensured that nobody felt safe to go and vote except their people. Why haven’t they arrested anybody?” he questioned.
He further criticised the government for failing to uphold its responsibility to ensure a safe and fair electoral environment.
“The state was supposed to provide security, but they failed. Rather, they had the state security demobilised and they mobilised their security,” he added.
Ahiagbah’s comments come amid growing concerns about political violence and security failures during the rerun, which was conducted to resolve an electoral dispute stemming from the December 2024 general elections.
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