MP Aspirant Opens Defence

THE TARKWA Circuit Court, which is trying Mathias Ntow Kwame, the embattled National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate for the Aowin constituency in the Western Region, for allegedly engaging in double voter registration, yesterday asked the accused person to open his defence on Tuesday December 2, 2008.

According to the presiding judge, Kofi Diewou, the Principal State Attorney, George Kpodo had enough evidence against the accused person.

He therefore asked the counsel for the accused, Justice Adusa-Poku of the Law Trust Chambers in Accra to open his defence on the adjourned date.

Justice Adusa-Poku entreated the presiding judge to provide him with up-to-date proceedings of the first sitting for him to study in order to open his defence which the judge agreed to do.

The counsel told the court that he would bring four or five witnesses to court on Tuesday.

The NDC parliamentary candidate for the Aowin constituency was last Wednesday hauled before the Tarkwa Circuit Court for allegedly engaging in double registration.

He pleaded not guilty to the offence and was granted bail in the sum of GH¢5,000 with a surety to be justified.

Giving the facts of the case to the court, the prosecutor, Mr. Kpodo indicated that  the  accused person registered as a voter in 2004 at Winneba in the Central Region and was issued with a voter identity card number 14489708 (G I).

He said to enable him to contest as the NDC parliamentary candidate for the Aowin constituency, Mathias Ntow Kwame duly applied to the Electoral Commission (EC) to transfer his vote from Winneba to Aowin constituency which the EC granted.

According to the prosecutor, Mathias went to the Methodist Primary School Polling centre and registered again during the recent limited voter registration exercise.

Mr. Kpodo noted that the accused registered with the name Mathias Ntow at the said polling centre and was given identity card number 24329419 (HC).

After EC officials had subjected the NDC parliamentary candidate to a brief interrogation, it was found out that he had engaged in double registration.

A report was made to the police and he was subsequently arrested and put before the court.

Witnesses in the case, Boafo Anokye of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and Emmanuel Bannor of the Convention People's Party (CPP) both gave evidence in the case and said the accused did register when the registration exercise was opened.

From Emmanuel Opoku, Tarkwa