NDC NPP Clash At Suhum

NPP and NDC flags

SUPPORTERS OF the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the largest opposition party, New Patriotic Party (NPP) clashed again at Suhum, one of the political flash points in the Eastern Region on Saturday when the biometric registration exercise commenced at the Suhum Post Office temporary booth polling station, with the NDC supporters accusing the NPP of 'importing' people from Amanokrom in the Akuapem North district of the region to come and register at the polling station.

Supporters of the NDC physically prevented a certain man called 'Commander' from registering because they said he comes from Amanokrom and was not permanently resident at Suhum while supporters of NPP said he was a permanent resident, thereby causing commotion at the polling station.

Personnel of the Suhum Police came and restored order at the polling station for the exercise to continue.

A fire service person who had just been transferred to the town was also prevented from registering because agents of both parties said they did not know him in the area.

Supporters of both parties who were mainly youth traded insults and insinuations and accused each other of trying to get people from outside the constituency to come and register at Suhum.

One NDC supporter told DAILY GUIDE that the NPP in the town had brought about 80 people from Amanokrom to come and register in the area and that they would never allow them to register while the NPP supporters also claimed some 'strangers' were seen being transported from outside the constituency in a government vehicle with registration number GV 677 X, belonging to the Suhum Municipal Assembly, to the house of a popular NDC activist called 'One Day'.

At the same polling station, the NDC supporters confronted the assembly member for the area, one Joseph Ohene Sackey, for sitting close to the registration officers to observe the exercise and demanded that he left the place.

However, there was calm in two other polling stations at Suhum where DAILY GUIDE visited, with the exercise going on smoothly.

As at 12 noon, 28 people had been registered at Nartey Anoma polling station at Ayikotse while 40 had been registered at the Islamic Primary 'A' polling station at Zongo areas in the Suhum township at about 1.30pm.

The registration officer at Islamic polling station, Adjetey Mensah, told DAILY GUIDE that everything was moving on smoothly.

He however said the fingerprints of one person in his thirties could not be captured because he had very 'hard' palms.

'We cleaned his fingers and made him put his palms in a basin of water for more than 30 minutes yet his fingerprints could not be taken because he had extremely hard palms,' he said, adding that he they had to take only his picture.

At the end of the exercise in Suhum and the New Juaben municipalities, an average of 100 people were registered at each of the polling stations.

Meanwhile, the regional branch of the NPP has raised an alarm about the intention of the NDC to do cross-border transportation of people to areas where they marginally lost to enable them to gain advantage in those constituencies.

At a press conference on Friday to register their concern, the regional communication director of the party, Martin Owusu Barfi, said the NDC was transporting people from Okotokrom in the West Akim municipality to Suhum to boost their chances there.

According to him, some people were also being bused from Atiankama Nkwanta zongo in the Birim Central municipality of the region and Kade and Asamankese zongos to go and register at Akwatia to enhance their chances there.

Mr Barfi said some people were also being harboured at Kyebi in the Abuakwa South constituency in the house of one Alhaji Sanusi, an NDC sympathizer, while people were being bused from Oyoko and Busoso to go and register at Tafo in the Abuakwa North constituency.

According to the NPP, they had already written officially to the regional police and the regional directorate of the Electoral Commission to inform them about the machinations of the NDC to bloat the register in some constituencies in the region.

'As peace-loving people of this nation, we have informed the police about this and we want to say also that we also use every legitimate means to prevent these strangers from registering at where they had been transported to,' he said, adding that the police must step up their intelligence to nip in the bud such 'illegal' transportation of people from one constituency to other for the purpose of registration that has the potential to bring violence.

From Thomas Fosu Jnr, Suhum