‘You'll be beaten till blood oozes out of your nose’ – Obiri Boahen stands by his comments

Deputy General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Obiri Boahen, remains resolute to clamp down anyone who intends to disrupt the voters’ registration exercise.

Obiri Boahen was earlier reported to have threatened more grievous punishment for persons who attempt to foment trouble during the exercise.

He was alleged to have threatened massive violence, twice as that of Ayawaso West Wuogon if anyone dares to distract the process.

Nonetheless, in an interview with Accra based OkayFM, the ‘unapologetic’ NPP Deputy General Secretary said the police will not even be allowed to intervene in such an instance and that anybody posing as a threat will be beaten mercilessly on that day.

“My brother let’s stop behaving like angels. If someone is going to register, why do you want to disrupt the whole process because you assume the person is either voting for NDC or NPP? Just try it, you will be beaten mercilessly. Mark it on the wall, he will be beaten to an extent that blood will be oozing out of his/ her nose. In matters like this, you don’t wait for the police, you just act. For instance, in a town like Abronye where you have to travel several kilometers before coming across a police station, you will be beaten. Not by NPP members but by the crowd,” he stated.

He added, anybody who intends to demonstrate his or her physical prowess rather than challenging the registration exercise in court will be dealt with.

“The Supreme Court case of Abu Ramadan and Evans Nimako. These two disagreed on issues but they went to court. Agyemang Konadu also went to the High court. People take cases to court if they don’t agree to things. If anyone instead of going to court thinks he is strong enough to fight, I swear to God he will be dealt with. Whoever wants to try let that person try. Let him or she make the slightest attempt and see,” He fumed.

The decision by the Electoral Commission of Ghana to compile a new voters’ register has faced fierce resistance by a group called the Inter-Party Resistance against the New Voters Register (IPRAN), made up of six opposition political parties, including the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

The group staged demonstrations in some parts of the country early this year. It had planned to escalate their actions against the EC but for the spread of coronavirus in the country.

The EC has nonetheless maintained its position to compile a new voter’s register

The commission initially slated the exercise for April 18, 2020, but had to postpone it due to the Coronavirus.

With about 6 months to the December 7, Presidential and Parliamentary election, the EC has served notice it will still go ahead with the compilation of the new voters’ register.