Dr. Bernard Tutu Boahene, a lecturer at the University of Education, Winneba, has condemned the violence that marred the Ablekuma North rerun election on Friday, July 11, 2025.
According to him, electoral violence in the country has made “the kind of elections that we conduct in this country more or less too dangerous to manage.”
He says both the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) focus on winning elections without prioritising the lives of people in such circumstances.
The UEW lecturer noted that incidents during by-elections and reruns are giving Ghana a bad name, undermining the strides the nation has made in democracy over the years.
“It is not good on our part. We are not doing anything possible to protect our democracy,” he said while commenting on the violence that characterised the Ablekuma North rerun election on Friday.
He feared that Ghana could lose its accolade as a “beacon of democracy” in the region due to the violence that has characterised elections. Dr. Tutu-Boahene noted that countries that have been following Ghana’s lead in democracy may one day surpass the nation if care is not taken.
“One-day one-day, the very countries that are learning from our democracy will do it better than we are doing,” he said on the BigIssue segment on TV3’s NewDay on Monday, July 14, 2025.
Background
The rerun election in 19 polling stations in Ablekuma North last Friday was disrupted by violent attacks, as key political figures were assaulted by unknown individuals during the voting.
Some of these attacks happened in front of heavily armed security officers, causing the election to stop for a while as voters, election officials, and political representatives ran for safety.
Former Member of Parliament (MP) for Awutu Senya East, Mavis Hawa Koomson, was attacked at the Methodist 1 polling station, resulting in injuries, as the hoodlums arrived in a pickup truck accompanied by multiple motorbikes, which caused panic among voters.
These thugs stormed the polling station, pushed aside the security officers, and chased after the former MP. She tried to defend herself with pepper spray from her bag, but they overpowered her and handled her roughly. The police quickly stepped in to help her up from the ground, where she had suffered bruises on her face.
The Deputy National Organiser of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Chris Lloyd Nii Kwei Asamoah, was also physically attacked at the St. Peter’s polling station in Odorkor when he tried to gain access to the polling station. Unknown men punched him in the face until the police stepped in to protect him.
Additional disturbances were also reported at the Church of Pentecost, North Odorkor Polling Station 2, where a police officer was suspended for slapping Agyekum Banahene, a journalist with GHOne TV.
In a press statement announcing the officer’s interdiction, the police service assured the public that a thorough investigation would be conducted, and further updates would be provided.
READ ALSO: Ablekuma North rerun: Police interdict officer for slapping GHOne TV reporter at polling station
The Electoral Commission organised the rerun across 19 polling stations after disputes from the December 7, 2024, general election left the constituency without an MP for seven months.
Although the NPP officially boycotted the rerun over claims of unfairness, its candidate, Nana Akua Owusu Afriyie, chose to participate in the election.
Despite these events, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate, Ewurabena Aubynn, won the election by 209 votes, beating the NPP’s Nana Akua Owusu Afriyie.
Ewurabena Aubynn received 34,090 votes, whilst Nana Akua Owusu Afriyie garnered 33,881, as announced by the Electoral Commission.
We’re taking steps to identify perpetrators of violence during election in Ablekuma North – Police
