NDC Candidate Threatens Court Action

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate for the Cape Coast Constituency, Barton Oduro, has threatened legal action against Kennedy Agyepong, MP for Assin North for allegedly stating on an Accra FM that he will send people to deal with him. He said Agyepong's threat was to intimidate him and also part of the ploy of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to rig the December election.

Mr Oduro said this at a joint news conference he addressed with Dr J.S. Annan, NDC Parliamentary Candidate for Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem (KEEA) Constituency here yesterday.

The news conference was to comment on the transfer of votes by students of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) resulting in a clash with some members of the NDC on Tuesday regarding the setting up of an electoral office on campus.

Mr Oduro said “I am ready to meet Kennedy boot-for-boot” and added that the people of Cape Coast had for a long time been given a raw deal on the choice of its parliamentary candidates.

On the setting-up-of the electoral office on the UCC campus, he said the EC only informed the party about the arrangement without allowing them to make an input.

He, therefore, concluded that the setting up of the office was aimed at facilitating the rigging of the December 7 poll.

He further alleged that the students had been given money to transfer their votes to Cape Coast.

When Dr Annan took his turn, he accused the Central Regional Minister, Nana Ato Arthur, of assaulting him and intimidating the District Electoral Officials yesterday.

The intimidation, he said, was part of the Regional Minister's plan to ensure that the electoral officials tilted the votes transfer process in his favour.

Asked whether he had reported the assault case to the police, Mr Annan said  “I am yet to make a complaint since I had to rush here”.

On whether he still maintained that the electoral official had been intimidated, Mr Oduro cut in to say that the EC officials would try to protect their jobs by not commenting on it.

Meanwhile, the Central Regional Minister, Nana Arthur, has refuted the allegation of assault against him.

Speaking at a news conference at Elmina, he said it was unfortunate that the NDC was adopting a  strategy of lies and deceit in order to win public sympathy.

Recalling what happened, Nana Arthur said at about 10.30 am he was at the Komenda Edina Eguafo Abrem Municipal Assembly  (KEEA)   when someone informed him that Dr J.S. Annan, the NDC parliamentary candidate of KEEA had visited the district Electoral Commission office in the assembly building.

He said owing to an earlier accusation Dr Annan had leveled against him, he went to the district electoral office to ask him why he had come.

Nana Arthur said Dr Annan asked him why he was intimidating the EC officials at the assembly, to which he replied that “assuming your allegation was tune are you their counsel and what business are you doing here yourself at this time?” After this, he left the office of the EC.

Nana Arthur said it was after this confrontation that he had calls from four radio stations in Accra which wanted to find out whether he had indeed assaulted Dr Annan.

I was taken by surprise when I received the phone calls because I could not imagine how  Dr Annan could ran to the radio stations to allege what  I have no knowledge about “ he said.

“I have served as government official for the last eight years and have never harmed a fly so I see no reason why I will do so just because of an election which will surely come to an end after December 7” he concluded.

Earlier, a visit to the UCC campus by the Times witnessed a smooth process in the transfer of votes by the students amidst security presence.