We can’t accept Ayawaso Wuogon by-election result – Minority

The Minority in Parliament has rejected the outcome of the violence-ridden by-election in Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency.

Six people were shot at the Baweleshie polling centre of the constituency during the election Thursday, compelling the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) to withdraw from the exercise citing safety concerns.

No deaths were recorded, the police said.

Voters were electing a new Member of Parliament (MP) for the area. The by-election was necessitated by the demise of the incumbent Emmanuel Kyeremanteng Agyarko last year. He represented the area on the ticket of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP).

The two main contenders for the seat were Lydia Seyram Alhassan, the spouse of the late MP on the ticket of the NPP and Delali Kwasi Brempong on the ticket of opposition NDC.

The NPP’s candidate was declared the winner of the by-elections. She obtained over 60% of the total valid votes cast in the polls boycotted by the opposition NDC.

Addressing journalists on the incident on Friday, the leader of the Minority Haruna Iddrisu said Thursday “will pass as a blot on the conscience of our democratic evolution with what was observed and what has been appropriately reported.”

“We, therefore, are unable to accept even the outcome of the election as one which was credible and one which was free and fair.

“For those of you who understand the use of the word free in an election, it means the outcome, the process of the election and the activity of the election must be free from fear, free from intimidation and free from violence,” Iddrisu said.

“Yesterday’s violence associated with the conduct of the election in our strongest view cannot produce a Member of Parliament unless that Member of Parliament wants to be a product of a violent outcome of an election. It tells even in the outcome of the election,” he added.