Unwarranted arrest and detention of NDC agents during voter transfer exercise in the Eastern region

The Legal Directorate of the NDC party in the Eastern Region has become aware that on May 31, 2024, the Police Command at Adeiso in the Upper West Akim Constituency arrested and detained the Constituency Secretary of the NDC during the ongoing proxy and voter transfer exercise at the Adeiso District office of the Electoral Commission (EC). He was detained for several hours.

We are also aware that the same police at Adeiso removed the NDC agents from the District office of the EC, stating that no agents are required or allowed at the EC office during the proxy and voter transfer exercise.

As the Director of Legal Affairs for the party in the region, I spoke with the concerned police officer. He informed me that the guidelines provided to the police state that no agents are required to be present during the proxy and voter transfer exercise.

Meanwhile, we are aware that at the last IPAC meeting, the decision was made by all stakeholders that agents of the political parties are required to be present during the ongoing exercise. Consequently, the NPP has its agents present at the District office of the EC nationwide.

In the lead-up to the December 7 elections, we do not want a situation where one set of guidelines is given to one group and another set to another group. This would certainly create unnecessary tensions and could lead to a breach of the peace, which would be needless and unwarranted.

We want to bring to the attention of the EC that it should always ensure that the same set of rules is made available to all stakeholders, including the political parties, to avoid confusion.

We cannot confirm whether it is true that the guidelines given to the police state that agents of the political parties are not allowed at the District office of the EC. However, if this is true, it is completely unacceptable. We in the region do not want a repeat of such a situation for the peace of the region and to ensure that the upcoming elections are truly free and fair, without a deliberate attempt to skew the elections in favor of the NPP or any other entity.

We hope that going forward, all stakeholders, especially the EC, will ensure that everyone is on the same page for every activity of the EC, and most importantly, on election day.

The arrest of our Constituency Secretary and the removal of our agents were totally unnecessary and should not be repeated.