The Police should have anticipated the mayhem that occurred during the Ablekuma North Parliamentary rerun and declared the area a hot spot, a Security Expert, Dr Ishmael Norman, has said.
He accused the Police of not being proactive.
Dr Norman further called on the Police to prosecute the person who attacked former MP for Awutu Senya East Constituency, Hawa Koomson.
He condemned the attacks on her and further blamed the violence on the Police.
Speaking on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday July 12, “Overall, I think the performance wasn’t too bad…they should have anticipated the violence and declared it there hotspot. The preparedness was poor. They had to think about the worst-case scenario, but they didn’t do that.
“Definitely, the Police officers were dispatched. I also want them to prosecute the persons who attacked the woman. This is the fault of the Police, they should have searched everyone.”
He added “The IGP should immediately identify the Police Officers who misbehaved during the Ablekuma North rerun and punish them accordingly.”
The voting process at the Odorkor Methodist 1 polling station was suspended after chaos erupted during the Ablekuma North rerun in 19 polling stations.
The thugs in their numbers then proceeded to the spot where the polling station was mounted and began assaulting some individuals.
A notable personality who was amongst the individuals assaulted was former MP for Awutu Senya East Constituency, Hawa Koomson.
Nii Blewu reported that a JoyNews journalist was also assaulted while she was taking videos of the chaos. Other individuals were also assaulted.
The police officers, despite being many at the premises, could not prevent the attack and foil the chaos.
The election pits the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate, Ewurabena Aubynn, against the NPP’s Nana Akua Owusu Afriyieh.
3news.com is on the ground and will be providing live updates, results, and analysis as the day unfolds.
The election became necessary to break a seven-month deadlock that has left the constituency without parliamentary representation since the December 7th General Election.
The stakes: A numbers game
The race is exceptionally tight, making the outcome of today’s rerun critical. From the 262 polling stations already collated, the results stand as follows:
- NPP (Nana Akua Owusu Afriyieh): 32,512
- NDC (Ewurabena Aubynn): 32,464
- Difference: 48 votes
Background of the Rerun
The impasse began during the collation of results last December when, according to the Electoral Commission (EC), political party supporters besieged the collation centre and destroyed an unspecified number of original result forms (Pink Sheets).
This led to the use of 37 scanned Pink Sheets, provided by the NPP, to continue the collation process.
The NDC objected, insisting on a full rerun in all 37 polling stations where scanned copies were used.
The NPP, however, argued that since NDC agents had verified the scanned copies, the results should stand.
