At a time when everything was going well in this year’s election process in the Nabdam Constituency in the Upper East Region, a gang stormed the Kongo Senior High School Polling Station and assaulted the Presiding Officer, Maxwell Atara.
According to the Presiding Officer, he only asked the leader of the gang not to ride into the voting area, rather he should get out of the area and pack some meters away. The leader of the gang whose name is yet to be announced took offense and slapped the Presiding Officer.
The Presiding Officer reported the case to the Police Officers on duty who came in with the intention of arrested the leader of the “macho” gang but quickly run away from the scene.
Maxwell Atara out of anger threatened to halt the voting exercise if the opinion leaders of the community do not bring the young man to apologize.
“I have every right to halt this exercise until my superiors come to say otherwise. I want the opinion leaders to bring him to apologize.”
At Sumbrungu in the Bolgatanga Central Constituency, a similar incident was witnessed when a group of macho men on motorbikes ride from polling station to polling station, with the excuse that they are just going round to resolve problems the that Electoral Commission is not able to solve immediately.
Some voters in queues told the Daily Guide that seeing the macho men in their numbers in a long motorbike convoy is enough to intimidate her and many others especially the elderly women.
So far the incident above is the only one reported during the voting session.
FROM: Ebo Bruce-Quansah, Kongo