The Electoral Commission has indefinitely suspended the transfer of votes in the Asunafo South Constituency of the Brong Ahafo Region following an attack on its district office at Kukuom that led to the destruction of electoral materials.
According to the Commission, its satellite (VSAT system) and voter management software as well as laptops computers in the district office were all destroyed in last Thursday dawn’s attack which was a spillover of a renewed clash between two political parties in the constituency.
Clashes between supporters of the National Democratic Congress and the New Patriotic Party in the Constituency last week caused one person to lose an eye while another suffered machete wounds.
There have been a protracted tension between supporters of the NDC and the NPP in the area which occasionally results in attacks and reprisals; something that has put residents in fear for months.
READ NDC ‘thugs’ inflict machete wounds on NPP man; one loses an eye
Last Wednesday, machete wielding thugs said to be supporters of the NDC stormed the NPP office at Kukuom where they destroyed office equipment as a result of some disturbances during the vote transfer exercise.
At the dawn of Thursday, some unknown persons also attacked the Asunafo South District Assembly and the EC office leading to the destruction.
Deputy Head of Communications at the EC, Mr. Yussif A. Ayuba told an Accra-based Joy FM that “the vandalism caused a lot of damage in our offices. The VSAt system that we use in doing all these voter transfer; voter management software that we use, that system has been vandalized”.
He added: “We need to install a new equipment in the office before we can continue with the transfer… People genuinely would want to transfer their vote, an alternative provision will be made for such persons to be able to transfer their votes within the period.”
He said a total of 15 people had successfully transferred their votes at the time the attack was carried out.
By Stephen Kwabena Effah|3news.com|Ghana
Twitter @steviekgh_TV3
