Seven Arrested Over Election Boycott

Four traditional areas in the Biakoye Constituency of the Volta region have boycotted the ongoing district assembly elections to register their displeasure with a government policy in the area. The communities are Worawora, Kwamikrom, Tapa Amanya and Apesokubi.

DAILY GUIDE gathered that not more than 10 people voted in many of the polling stations that expected hundred of voters.

Some seven young men were arrested at Tapa Amanya by the police for allegedly asking people not to go and vote. They are Ernest Kankam, Alfred Amoah, Daniel Amoako, Yaw Annor Samuel, Raphael Okyere, Odame Harrison and Asamoah Phillip.

Samuel Amoako told DAILY GUIDE that some military men crossed the vehicle of Ernest Kankam and arrested him, after which they brought out a list of three more people and forced him to lead them to their whereabouts, where they were also arrested and locked up at the Worawora Police station.

Later, three people went to the station to get them bailed but they were also arrested and locked up, bringing the number to seven. They were later sent to Jasikan.

Daniel Amoako accused a certain police officer at the Worawora police station for allegedly collecting GH¢350 before granting the seven bail yesterday.

He said the officer initially collected GH¢150 but refused to grant them bail and later demanded another GH¢200 which the community members pooled and gave to him before he granted them bail on Thursday.

Attempts to reach the said officer however failed.

A few votes were also recorded in villages beyond water bodies as the information of the decision to boycott the election got to them late, but voting allegedly stopped when the information finally got to them.

Worawora, Tapa, Bowiri and Apesokubi people demonstrated last Monday to register their dissatisfaction with the siting of the district capital at Nkonya Ahenkro. They threatened to boycott the assembly polls and any other future elections.

The furious demonstrators blamed the National Democratic Congress (NDC) chairman, Dr Kwabena Adjei and the Volta Regional Minister, Joseph Amenowode, for bringing confusion into the constituency through political manipulations.

According to them, Nkonya Ahenkro did not deserve to be the district capital but the two were allegedly using their powers to do otherwise and appealed to the president to bring them to order.

They alleged that Dr. Adjei was using his position as an NDC chairman to manipulate the siting of the district capital and called on President Mills to come to their aid or they would boycott all elections.

They held placards with inscriptions ‘Mr. President, Don’t Listen To Kwabena Adjei in the siting of our District Capital’, ‘The Four Traditional Areas Will Not Be Part Of Nkonya As District Capital’, and ‘Kwabena Adjei Cannot Be Bigger Than Four Traditional Areas’ and many more.

The demonstrators later converged on Worawora where they met the chiefs and elders of the four traditional areas who assured them of their unflinching support in their fight to ensure that the district capital was sited at the appropriate place.

In another development, ballot papers for the Wute electoral area in the Akatsi District were declared missing, hence the election in the area had to be postponed to today.

According to the returning officer, even though the name of the electoral area was boldly inscribed on the envelope that contained the papers, when it was opened, it belonged to another electoral area.

Voter turnout in the Volta Region has been generally low.

Source: Daily Guide