The Ghana Police Service on Friday arrested the Member of Parliament for Kwadaso, Kingsley Nyarko for election related crime.
The police are launching investigation into the alleged electoral offence involving some temporary officers of the Electoral Commission and the MP during the by-election at Ejisu in the Ashanti region.
The EC temporary officers who have been identified as George Sasu, and Regina Serwaa have also been invited by the Police to assist in the investigation and their statements were duly taken.
The arrest follows a video captured by Adom News, where the MP for Kwadaso, Professor Kingsley Nyarko was filmed handing an envelope to two EC officials at the Church of Pentecost Polling Station at Fumesua during Tuesday’s Ejisu by-election.
Due to that, the Electoral Commission suspended the two officials and called for criminal investigations into their actions.
The EC, in a statement, their officials, Regina Serwaa, a Ballot issuer and George Sasu, Presiding Officer were
immediately relieved of their duties after the video circulated on social media.
In an interview, Professor Nyarko admitted to being the man captured in the footage dropping a white envelope on the table of officials of the EC during the by-election.
He clarified that he did not intend to influence the EC officials with the contents of the envelope and expressed willingness to cooperate with any investigations by the Ghana Police Service into the
matter.
However, the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) have also arrested and questioned several interested parties as it delves into the corruption allegations.
Meanwhile, a Governance Expert, Prof Baffour Agyeman Duah has also dismissed calls for the prosecution of the MP over his alleged electoral misconduct.
According to the Governance Expert, “Frankly, this is much I do about nothing because the response we are getting already tells you where this is going to go”.
“Unless the Electoral Commission has direct rules against politicians and others giving lunch to people, I don’t know what they can do about this,” he explained.
-BY Daniel Bampoe