No Election At Tain

Tain electoral office Following some misunderstanding between the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the Electoral Commission (EC), voting has been suspended indefinitely in the Tain Constituency of the Brong Ahafo Region.

The NPP accused the EC of stealing about 1,820 ballot papers which they claimed it gave to the NDC, their only opponent in the run-off.

But the EC has denied the allegation.
Speaking to DAILY GUIDE , Deputy Director of Research and Monitory at the EC who also has oversight responsibility in the Brong Ahafo, Mr. Samuel Ntow disclosed that the NPP was not left out of the distribution of ballot materials for the December 28 run-off.

“So they cannot accuse us of stealing ballot papers and if it is stealing, then they are part of it,” he said.

He explained that the whole problem at Tain was centered on the new Returning Officer (RO), one Amos.

According to him, when the allegation of manipulation of figures came up at Tain during the December 7 elections, Amos was the only person exonerated by the police after investigations, hence his appointment as the RO for the constituency.

He told DAILY GUIDE that when the new RO was introduced to the two political parties, they both accepted him, saying the EC was therefore shocked when just a day to the run-off, the NPP brought a letter to the Commission protesting against the appointment of Amos as the RO for Tain.

On the issue of missing ballot papers, Mr. Ntow explained that when the ballot papers including other ballot materials arrived from Accra, they were kept at the police station until they were dispatched to the various districts in the presence of agents of the two parties participating in the run-off.

He said when ballot papers were opened at Nsawkaw for re-distribution to various polling stations, it was noticed that there was a shortage of 2000 ballot papers, but after recounting, the figure reduced to 1820.

This, he said, the NPP would not understand, accusing the EC of stealing the missing ballot papers for the NDC.

According to him, the NDC had agreed to allow the election to go ahead, but agents of the NPP led by Hon Joe Danquah disagreed.

Mr. Ntow said the condition at Tain yesterday was not favourable for the election, as tension was very high and in order to let peace prevail, the EC decided to pack off to Sunyani, the regional capital.

It would be recalled that after the December 7 election, the EC offices at Tain was burnt down, the reason for which all ballot materials for the run-off were lodged at the Nsawkaw Police Station.

In Sunyani East and West Constituencies, the election went on peacefully, and unlike on December 7 when there were long queues, yesterday's run-off did not record such queues.

But records showed that more people had cast their votes.

At the Estate Experimental polling station, reports indicated that a group of people came there claiming to be workers of an NGO observing the election.

The group was however prevented from writing the serial number of the ballot box when it was noticed that they were NDC members. This was because the NDC already had agents at the polling station.  

From Simmons Yussif Kewura, Sunyani