Pictures from the Central Police Station
THE DISCOVERY of thumb-printed ballot papers in favour of President John Mahama which were reportedly stuffed in three big black bags in Room Four of Madison Lodge at TUC in Kumasi created a lot of tension in the city Monday morning.
Supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) who suspected that the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) wants to rig tomorrow’s elections, rushed to the Central Police Station, where the items were taken to, in protest.
The policemen at the station, led by COP Kofi Boakye, the Ashanti Regional Commander, had a very tough time ordering the charged supporters, numbering over 500, to leave the station.
Bags Discovery
Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NPP, Bernard Antwi Boasiako aka Chairman Wontumi, led a team of policemen and NPP taskforce to Madison Lodge at about 7 am after he had been hinted about electoral materials being kept in the hotel.
Addressing newsmen, Wontumi said two young men who according to the receptionist at the hotel, were the owners of the bags, left before the police and the NPP taskforce arrived for a search of the rooms in the facility.
He said he had a tip-off that bags which were fully laden with thumb-printed ballot papers for President Mahama were being kept in one of the hotel rooms “and true to our suspicion the illegal items were uncovered during our visit.”
Wontumi said the police brought the electoral materials to the Central Police Station to count them, adding that about 10,000 thumb-printed ballot papers were found in the three bags.
The NPP regional chairman said the NPP is alert and therefore would make a follow-up to any information that would be dispatched to it, stressing that he would not allow the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to rig the polls.
EC Denial
The Ashanti Regional EC boss, Serebuor Quaicoe, who rushed to the Central Police Station on Monday morning to examine the seized items, stated that the materials were fake because they did not have serial numbers on them.
According to him, he rushed to the station to check when he heard reports that some electoral materials were in possession of some individuals even before the Election Day “but I realized that the items in question were fake.”
Arrest
COP Kofi Boakye stated that since the owners of the bag were not at the hotel when the items were seized, the police had to arrest the hotel’s manager and the receptionist to assist in investigations.
He admonished politicians in the city to refrain from coming out with wild allegations which tend to create unnecessary tension, fear and panic, especially as the December 7 polls draw closer.
“The wild goose chase is becoming too often in the city in recent times and this weird behaviour will not help anybody,” the police chief complained, adding that anybody who has suspicions should report to the police first.
‘Change’ Mantra
Meanwhile, hundreds of NPP supporters in the city that left their homes and work places to the police station to catch a glimpse of the seized materials, suddenly, turned the place into a political rally ground, with some of them chanting “Change is coming.”
Some even went on their knees to thank God for helping the NPP to unravel what they termed “the ill motives of the NDC.”
FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi