Over-voting rocks PM election at CCMA

Violent nearly broke out yesterday at the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly Hall, when an election held to elect a Presiding Member to steer affairs of the august house was marred by fraudulent voting.

The over-voting that nearly resulted in the exchange of blows among some of the assembly members, occurred at the end of second round of voting, after the first round failed to produce a winner in the one-man horse race.

In all, 64 members, made up of both government appointees and elected members, were expected to cast their votes to determine the fate of the sole contestant, Mr. Lawrence Ampah.

Out of the total of 64 who were expected to cast their votes, 60 turned up with four absenting themselves.

This means that the contestant required at least 43 votes, representing two-thirds to be successful.

However, after the votes were counted, Mr. Ampah secured 40 in his favour, whereas 20 voted against.

The election was rescheduled after some minutes by an official from the Electoral Commission who conducted the election.

At this point, mini conferences were held among the members, as they were seen in queues or groups of three, four and five.

About an hour and half later, the house was reconvened, and another round of voting held. Thus round two.

The voting went on successfully, but the aftermath was a sight to behold, as the number of votes found in the secret ballot box exceeded the total number of voters present who voted.

At the end of counting, 44 members voted yes in favour of the contestant, while 40 voted against, and this set the platform for protestations and confrontations.

The obvious thing was that there was over-voting by four, and it was also strange as to how those four excess votes entered the ballot box.

The results were then annulled and fresh voting took place.

At the end of the third round of voting, in which 58 members exercised their franchise, 38 voted yes in favour of Mr. Lawrence Ampa, while 20 voted no against him.

Following the inability of the contestant to secure the required votes to realise his dream of becoming the Presiding Member for the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly, a fresh election will be held at a later date.

By Naabenyin Joojo Amissah.