NPP Primaries: Voting halted at Wa East Constituency over chaos between supporters of two aspirants

Correspondence from Upper West Region

Voting at Funsi in the Wa East Constituency was forced to come to a temporary halt after supporters of two aspirants engaged in a serious brawl.

The supporters of the District Chief Executive (DCE), Hon. Dr. Ewura Kandia Mahama and Mr. Halitu Issac, Regional Secretary of the NPP, were accusing each other of engaging the delegates in campaigning when they came to cast their ballots.

The exchanges escalated, resulting in fisticuffs, before the police managed to control the situation, arresting six of the supporters in the process, who were eventually taken to the police station.

But the arrests of the six supporters did not go down well with supporters of Halitu Isaac, who alleged that the chaos was initiated by the supporters of the DCE, Dr. Ewura Kandia Mahama, and yet only members of their side got arrested by the Police.

To effectively bring the situation under control for voting to continue, the Police dismantled the canopies and chairs erected by both aspirants for their supporters at the voting centre before engaging the aspirants, the Constituency Chairman, the Constituency Secretary, as well as the Elections Director of the Constituency for amicable resolution of the skirmishes, giving way for the resumption of the polls.

But soon after voting resumed, another disagreement led to the halting of the process again.

The confusion erupted when supporters of Halitu Issac accused the DCE team of engaging in campaigning at the voting centre as well as raising concerns over the presence of the DCE branded vehicle packed there contrary to the party's regulations.

It had to take the intervention of a regional delegation that had just arrived comprising the Regional Communication Officer, Mr. Ahmed Nana Sadat, and the Deputy Regional Nasara Coordinator, Mr. Muhammed Tinkler, to solve the situation for the continuation of the exercise.

Voting is now ongoing smoothly, with no more skirmishes as of now.

Three aspirants, including the DCE, Dr. Ewura Kandia Mahama, Halitu Isaac, and Salifu Yakubu, are in contention to lead the party in the Wa East Constituency to try unseating the NDC Member of Parliament, Dr. Seidu Jasaw.

651 delegates are expected to cast their ballots in the parliamentary primaries.