Electorate cautioned against making baseless accusations

Gomoa Dawurampong (C/R), Sept. 5, GNA 96 Mr Bertino Stephens, Gomoa District Electoral Officer, has cautioned the electorate against the making of baseless accusations against candidates vying for membership of the district assemblies during the platform mounting exercise. He said the Commission would not protect any person who made false and unsubstantiated allegations against candidates.

Mr Stephens was reacting to threats of a civil suit against a questioner by a candidate for alleged defamation.

According to Mr Stephens, it was an offence to prevent an aspiring candidate from presenting his or her manifesto to the public. He said disrupting the platform mounting exercise and defacing of candidate's posters, were electoral offence, which could land the offender in jail.

He was commenting on action taken by some chiefs and some youth of Gomoa Ekwamkrom near Swedru against one of the contestants, Mr Ekow Gibrine whom they alleged did not hail from the town and therefore, was not illegible to contest the election.

According to him, the chiefs had sent a petition to his office requesting him to disqualify Gibrine from contesting.

He said though he made it clear to them that district assembly concept was not a preserve for only people who hailed from a particular area, thugs were mobilised to prevent Gibrine from mounting the platform to present his manifesto by loud drumming and shouting.

The District Electoral Officer said when the platform was moved to Jukwa, also in the electoral area for the candidate to present his manifesto the thugs moved there to disrupt the programme again but were held in check by the youth of Jukwa.