The Deputy Director of Elections and IT for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Rashid Tanko-Computer, has accused the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) of deliberately attempting to disrupt the Akwatia by-election.
Speaking on JoyNews’ News Desk on Tuesday, September 1, Mr. Tanko-Computer alleged that Effutu MP and Majority Leader, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, was spotted pulling down posters of the NDC’s parliamentary candidate at a polling centre.
He described the alleged incident as an act of desperation, claiming it formed part of a broader strategy by the ruling party to undermine the electoral process.
“The desperation of the NPP has peaked,” he said. “They have repeatedly made their intentions clear to create confusion and discredit today’s election. The signs are obvious that they are losing, and this is their way of reacting.”
The NDC official further argued that the party’s campaign posters had been mounted at the location for weeks without any problem and questioned the justification for their sudden removal.
“Those posters have been there for over three weeks. The NPP has their own materials in other areas which nobody has touched. The fact that the site is a polling station does not give anyone the right to tear them down. Frankly, I’m shocked that this is coming from my brother, Afenyo-Markin,” he remarked.
He also expressed worry about what he described as the Electoral Commission’s unexpected conversion of a venue previously used by the NDC for party agent training into a polling station on Election Day.
“Just yesterday, we used that space for agent training and deployment, only for it to be reassigned as a polling centre today. The EC already has gazetted polling stations. If a poster has been there for weeks, it poses no disruption,” he argued.
Mr. Tanko-Computer dismissed the rationale behind removing campaign posters on voting day, insisting it only served to heighten tensions, noting that “After all, are voters casting their ballots for posters? Do posters determine how people vote? This is needless, creating tension and panic where there should be none,” he stressed.
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