Nana Obuor Sika (2nd left) with some members of the campaign team

The campaign team of Nana Nkansah Boadu Ayeboafo wants the Electoral Commission (EC) to change the venue for today’s re-run of the Council of State election from the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) to a neutral venue to ensure free, fair and transparent elections devoid of violence.

The group is also calling for the deployment of the military to boost security at the election premises, to ward off any thugs or machomen who may be harbouring plans of disrupting the election process today, Monday, February 17, 2025.

It will be recalled that the election of the region’s representative to the Council of State turned chaotic on Tuesday, February 11, when some machomen stormed the election grounds and disrupted the process, destroying ballot papers and boxes.

Five journalists who were filming the incident for their reports were beaten pitilessly. The victims include Gideon Nana Peprah, GhanaWeb; Akwasi Oppong, Angel FM; Kofi Adade, Oyerepa Radio/TV, Henry Kotei Henry, Oseikrom Dawuro newspaper, and Charles Awuah Mensah alias Papa That, Lawson FM/TV.

They were beaten in the presence of the police while the ballot papers were being sorted and counted by the electoral officers.

The campaign team manager, Nana Obuor Sika, in a press conference on Friday, February 14, claimed that the police deployed to the initial election failed to control the confusion that erupted at the RCC, hence the need for the deployment of military personnel to ensure violence-free process today.

“It is just so shameful having over 100 policemen and women who could not superintend over just 86 votes to be counted and results declared. What then is the assurance that come Monday (today), if this same people (police) are going to superintend the elections, we can have a smooth running of the elections? So I think this time, the military and all other forces must join hands, so that we can have a very clean, fair and violent-free elections,” he explained.

Nana Obuor Sika continued, “Our message is very clear: We are for the re-run on Monday (today), but we are not going to allow the elections to be held at RCC, and we are calling on the military and other security agencies to join forces with the police on Monday, so that we can have a very violent-free elections.”

He explained that the RCC is not neutral enough to serve as venue for the election, considering it being the official seat of the Regional Minister, Dr.  Frank Amoakohene, stressing that the election can easily be manipulated in favour of the National Democratic Congress (NDC)’s candidate, Yaw Owusu Obimpeh.

Nana Obour Sika also indicated that, they will resist any attempt by the Electoral Commission to change the voter register for the elections to favour one candidate.

“We are hearing from the various MMDAs in the Ashanti Region that, as we speak, there are swearing-in of new members who are going to form the government appointees, so that they can use those swearing-in members to tamper with the register.

“What we want to ask is that, what does the law say if there is going to be a re-run of elections? Does the law say the very register or the very album which was used for the elections could be tampered with the new register?  We are now calling on the Electoral Commission to do the needful.  There is no law that states that the album can be tampered.  The elections was held on Tuesday, and per what happened, there is the need for re-run as they have advised accordingly.  We have the total list of the 86 Assembly members who voted on that day, and that is what we all have to go by,” he indicated.

FROM David Afum, Kumasi