The National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) constituency election at the Ghanaman Soccer Centre of Excellence in the Prampram Constituency turned chaotic when some aggrieved persons thronged the area to disrupt the process on Monday.
Citi News reported on Sunday that about 200 delegates of the party in the area protested against the election over what they described as unfair disqualification of some four key contestants.
They alleged that some of the constituency executives and the Member of Parliament for the area, E.T Mensah, had connived with some Regional Executives to disqualify the four aspiring candidates.
[contextly_sidebar id=”HNLD3ZpHmmapA8bT5laRsK3x8bO8eBBv”]Although the disqualified candidates were later cleared to take part in the election on Monday, Citi News Tema correspondent, Elvis Washington, reported that the election was marred by the chaotic scenes.
He reported earlier that the police were finding it difficult controlling the crowd adding that the protesters were calling for the election to be called off.
“They are saying that the disqualification of the four members within the party was not done under fair practices so to them they should go and resolve the issues before the election continues… They are actually protesting vehemently. The police have to use excessive force to resist them. They just called for reinforcement from SWAT,” he reported.
Meanwhile, one of the disqualified candidates who was later reinstated, Mr Michael Nartey, in an interview with Citi News said he does not know the protesters saying, “I am here as a contestant so whoever is here is also here in the interest of the party. So whatever they are doing I don’t have any hand in it.”
“We were supposed to have cleared the case in court for us to settle it out amicably as a party. But at the arbitration, peace couldn’t prevail and we were expecting the national executive to intervene. Nobody said anything only for them to convene the election today being a holiday where no court is sitting. So that is why the riot is coming…
“I would have asked them not to do anything about that nature but one thing in life too is that the more you suppress someone, there more you think the person is a fool so one time if they also get up to do theirs, that one I will have no control over,” he remarked.
The NDC elections in the area have been plagued with a number of controversies, with some of ending up in court.
In September, an Accra Fast High Court restrained the NDC from organizing the youth, women and executive elections in the Ningo Prampram Constituency, after four plaintiffs contested the decision to disqualify them from contesting the elections by the party’s Vetting Committee.
The decision by the court was later described by the party’s Greater Accra Regional Chairman, Ade Coker described as “frivolous” and “vexatious.”
Similar suits have hit the party in many constituencies across the country.
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By: Godwin Allotey Akweiteh/citifmonline.com/Ghana