The re-run of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary primary for the Walewale constituency was abruptly marred by confusion on Monday, leading the Electoral Commission (EC) to declare the election null and void.
The disruption occurred when Kamara Bawah allegedly seized and damaged several ballot papers during the sorting process, which began around 4 p.m. The incident led to the destruction of some ballots and chaos at the voting center.
The EC has referred the issue back to the NPP for further action, as the primary was an internal party event to select a nominee for the December parliamentary elections. The party is now responsible for scheduling a new election date before the upcoming nomination filing deadline at the end of the week.
Earlier in the day, the voting process had proceeded without incident following a venue change. However, the situation deteriorated during ballot sorting when Bawah attempted to flee with the papers. Police fired warning shots to control the situation and later detained Bawah, who is now in police custody and is likely to face charges for damaging the ballots.
The EC reviewed the situation and decided to nullify the election results after assessing the extent of the damage to the ballots. The affected ballots were transported to the police station for further evaluation.
This re-run followed a ruling by the Tamale High Court, which annulled the results of the initial primary held in January due to issues such as impersonation and over-voting. The court had ordered a new election, originally set for September 8 but rescheduled to Monday.
A total of 842 delegates were expected to cast their votes in the re-run to determine the NPP’s candidate for the parliamentary elections. Security has been heightened in Walewale and surrounding areas to maintain order.
