The police were compelled to fire warning shots to maintain order during the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) parliamentary primary re-run in Walewale, after chaos erupted when a ballot box was snatched by Akamari Bawa, a former NPP Chairman for Yagaba-Kubori.
The incident caused a disruption in the sorting of ballot papers of the fiercely contested primary between the incumbent MP, Hajia Lariba Zuweratu, and Dr. Mahama Tia Kabiru, Special Advisor to the Vice President. The police successfully apprehended Akamari Bawa following the scuffle and retrieved the ballot box, which was then taken to the police station.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Newsnite in an interview monitored by InsiderGH.com, the NPP’s 3rd National Vice Chairman, Alhaji Osman Masawudu, confirmed that election officials are now awaiting the arrival of both candidates and their agents at the police station, where the ballot counting will continue under police supervision. The Electoral Commission is also present to oversee the process and declare the final results.
“Currently, as I am talking to you, we are at the Walewale police station waiting for both candidates to come with their agents. The Electoral Commission is here, the police commander is here. We are going to recount the ballot at the police station so that whoever won, the Electoral Commission would then declare the result,” he state.
The re-run follows a court ruling by Justice Richard Kogyapwah of the Tamale High Court, which ordered the re-run after Hajia Lariba Zuweratu challenged the initial results from June 2024 that had declared Dr. Mahama Tia Kabiru the winner.
An injunction was placed on Dr. Mahama Tia Kabiru, preventing him from holding himself as the NPP parliamentary candidate. The full judgement from this case is expected on September 12, 2024, just days before the Electoral Commission’s filing deadline for parliamentary and presidential candidates for the December 7 elections.
Source: InsiderGH.com
