While the governing New Patriotic Party is set to organise its parliamentary primaries on Saturday, January 27, 2024, the arrest of the Adontenhemaa of Akyem Akroso, Nana Afia Henewaa, and the campaign manager of Alex Owusu Adjei, Solomon Obeng Asante, has caused tension in the Asene Manso Akroso Constituency of the Eastern Region.
Mr. Adjei is the main challenger of the incumbent Member of Parliament, George Kwame Aboagye, in the primaries.
The two were arrested by the Akyem Oda Divisional Police Commander, ACP Rev. Dr. Adane-Ameyaw, a few days after they held a press conference to express their dissatisfaction over the change of venue for the voting.
The queen mother had accused the police commander and the MP of being behind the change of venue in an interview with the media.
Mr. Adjei, who went to the police station to seek bail for the queen mother, was also arrested and detained.
The two were later taken to the hospital after their blood pressure rose while in custody.
They claimed that they were verbally abused and handcuffed to the hospital beds, resulting in bruises on the queen mother’s wrist.
The charges against them are still unclear, but sources within the Divisional Police Command say that they were later released and asked to report back to the police station.
Some residents and delegates of Asene Manso Akroso, who are unhappy about the change of venue for the primaries, have alleged that the arrests were part of a plan to intimidate them.
They have threatened to support Alex Owusu Adjei as an independent candidate in the general elections if he loses the primaries.
Meanwhile, some supporters of the NPP in the Constituency are threatening to allow Alex Owusu Adjei, one of the parliamentary aspirants, to contest as an independent candidate in the general elections if the leadership of the party does not reconsider the change in venue for the voting.
The supporters argue that the NPP in the constituency has peacefully held all previous elections at the Akroso Presby school over the years.
They allege that the new venue at Akim Batabi, publicized by the regional elections’ committee, is only a ploy to favour the incumbent MP, who resides a few meters away from the new venue.
The supporters, clad in red and black apparel, poured onto the streets to register their displeasure over the change in the voting center.
They indicated their willingness to push for their candidate, Alex Owusu Adjei, to contest the Asene Manso Akroso Constituency seat as an independent candidate if the constituency and regional executives of the party do not rescind their decision.
“We have seen on the platform that the venue has changed to Batabi. Our problem is that the venue is close to the MP’s house. We believe that the MP has an interest, which is why the venue has changed. We don’t want intimidation; it is becoming too much. The executives have been campaigning for the incumbent. We cannot go there to cast our votes; we will let Alex Owusu Agyei contest as an independent candidate,” they warned.
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Meanwhile, the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has justified its decision to reject the Electoral Commission’s proposal to change the election date from December 7 to November 7.
The Deputy Director of Elections of the NDC, Tanko Rashid Conputer, in an interview on Eyewitness News on Citi FM, said that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) rejected the same proposal in 2016.
Rashid Conputer rhetorically questioned what has changed over the years that the NPP now seems to be in tandem with the EC’s proposal and is now calling on others to accept it.
“The NPP vehemently voted against the proposal in 2016. It was proposed in 2016 to change the date, and we needed a constitutional amendment. We needed the MPs to vote on it, and the NPP MPs voted against it, giving reasons for voting against the proposal. That is what we used for the 2020 elections. So, what we are asking now is, what has changed?”
The proposal was raised during the recent Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting held on Monday, January 22, 2024.
NDC’s Director of Elections, Dr. Omane Boamah, in response to the proposal, stated that the party is committed to maintaining the current date.
Rashid Conputer explained that the EC in 2016 “was trying to experiment with it, and it was a political proposal by all the political parties. The NPP vehemently opposed it at IPAC, and that is why we don’t see the need to change the date now.”
He added that the NDC’s opposition to the proposal is non-negotiable, and it will not rescind it.
“Clearly, we said we are completely against it, and we are not going to support it. We have made that very clear to the EC and the other parties, and this is not an issue we should be discussing right now.”
