Ballot Boxes And Papers In Volta Regional Minister’s House?

Supporters of the Volta regional minister Kwasi Owusu Yeboah and his main contender in the parliamentary race Alfred Kofi Appiah have clashed over allegations of electoral misconduct on the part of the minister.

The independent candidate who is challenging the minister for the Biakoye seat said his supporters marched on a house in the constituency following a tip off that voter ID cards were being laminated there.

He said an insider who was part of the scheme came to tell him at a rally that some people were laminating cards inside a house at Kwamekrom in the constiteucy, which made him to dispatch his supporters there to ascertain the truth.

He said his supporters went to report the matter to the Kpando police and the police in turn came to the house to search, but the Regional Minister warned the police not to enter the house unless they have produce a search warrant before they could search his residence.

“ You have no right to enter that house, you should not attempt to enter the house otherwise your job would be at stake”, he repeated the exact words of the minister.

Mr. Appiah said the Regional Minister called for police reinforcement from Ho upon seeing the angry supporters who had surrounded his house, but the police said they were not coming because of the way the minister had conducted himself.

He said the whole house is surrounded because there are suspicions that there are ballot papers and boxes in the house.

Reacting to the allegations, the Volta regional minister told Joy News the house in question has been his campaign headquarters for the past ten months.

He denied the accusations by his opponent, in turn accusing him of creating unnecessary tension.

He said the accusations were an attempt to follow up on the allegation that he was trying to rig the elections.

He said it was irresponsible for people who are not policemen to come to his house to search without a warrant.

Mr. Owusu Yeboah accused his opponent of being on the campaign team of his opponent Mr Collins Boateng and called him an opportunist who was creating needless tension in the constituency and told him to be responsible.

He said his bodyguard had to fire a warning shot to disperse the people who had gathered at his house so he could leave his house and get to the police station to file a complaint.

He accused the police for not arresting the people who were supposed to be supporters of the independent candidate and NDC who had surrounded his house.

The Kpando police have confirmed the fracas. The Police Commander in charge of the Kpando operational area, Superintendent Salifu told Joy News, they had sent officers to Kwamekrom to restore calm.

He said Kwamekrom was one of the trouble spot areas in the Volta Region and that he did not know of the request by the regional minister for police reinforcement.

He however advised supporters on both sides not to take the law in their own hands.