St. Peter’s Methodist Church in Odorkor is severely contemplating withdrawing its premises as a collation centre for future elections, citing important safety concerns and property damage inflicted during the volatile Ablekuma North parliamentary rerun on Friday, July 11.
The choice by the church management underscores the escalating challenges confronted by private and non-private establishments that supply their areas for Ghana’s electoral processes, usually bearing the brunt of political tensions.
Rev. Ebenezer Kofi, the church’s overseer, confirmed the contemplation of this drastic step, expressing deep misery over the occasions that marred the rerun.
His announcement highlights a rising disillusionment amongst group establishments that present important help for Ghana’s democracy however usually obtain little safety or compensation when violence erupts.
Friday’s rerun in Ablekuma North, held throughout 19 polling stations to resolve a protracted electoral dispute from the December 7, 2024, normal elections, was fraught with rigidity from the outset.
Their forceful entry disrupted the voting course of, inflicting widespread panic amongst voters and resulting in a short lived suspension of polling.
The assailants violently assaulted key figures of the New Patriotic Celebration (NPP), together with the celebration’s parliamentary candidate, Nana Akua Afriyie, and former Fisheries Minister Hawa Koomson.
Eyewitnesses described the incident as “well-coordinated and deliberate”, suggesting premeditation fairly than spontaneous unrest.
Police struggled to revive order, additional emphasising the challenges in controlling politically motivated violence at polling centres.
Talking in an interview with Citi Information on Saturday, July 12, Rev. Kofi articulated the church’s resolve.
“A choice needs to be taken by the management of the church the place we’ll take the collation centre from right here, and by extension, we’ll take the polling station from right here to forestall additional incidents,” he said, indicating a broad consensus inside the church management.
He confirmed that the church intends to formally request the Electoral Fee (EC) and safety companies to relocate each the collation centre and the close by police put up from the church premises.
Rev. Kofi additionally make clear the cumulative influence of internet hosting electoral actions, revealing that the December 2024 normal elections had additionally left a path of harm on the church, but the EC had provided no compensation.
“Most of our property have been vandalised and destroyed due to the collation… even yesterday I used to be advised that the residence of one of many ministers was additionally broken,” he lamented.
This lack of redress for damages usually deters establishments from providing their services in subsequent elections, doubtlessly forcing the EC to make use of much less appropriate venues.
The incident in Ablekuma North just isn’t an remoted one however kinds a part of a worrying pattern of accelerating electoral violence in Ghana.
The 2020 normal elections, as an illustration, have been marred by a number of incidents of violence that resulted in not less than eight fatalities, prompting widespread requires accountability that largely stay unanswered.
The December 2024 elections additionally noticed not less than six deaths, alongside quite a few stories of assaults on journalists and political figures.
Organisations just like the Ghana Centre for Democratic Growth (CDD-Ghana) and the Institute for Warfare and Peace Reporting (IWPR) have persistently highlighted the entrenched nature of electoral violence and the prevailing tradition of impunity.
Regardless of the NPP formally boycotting the rerun, its candidate, Nana Akua Afriyie, defied the celebration’s directive and contested the election.
She in the end misplaced to Ewurabena Aubynn of the Nationwide Democratic Congress (NDC) by a slender margin.
The rerun’s consequence shifts the steadiness of energy in parliament, however the violence that accompanied it leaves a deeper scar on Ghana’s democratic cloth.
The incident at St. Peter’s Methodist Church in Odorkor serves as a potent reminder of the necessity for the Electoral Fee, political events, and safety companies to proactively safeguard electoral venues and guarantee accountability for violence.
With out strong measures to guard these important democratic areas and compensate for damages, the integrity and accessibility of Ghana’s electoral course of stay in danger.
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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Feedback, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform don’t essentially signify the views or coverage of Multimedia Group Restricted.
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