The National Peace Council has issued a plea to the two major political parties, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC), to maintain peace and avoid any disruptions during the by-election in Kumawu today.Emphasizing the significance of preserving the constituency's peace, the Peace Council has urged both parties to respect the tranquility of the electoral process.

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The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the National Peace Council, Rt. Rev. Nuh Ben Abubekr, has specifically called upon the NPP and NDC to conduct themselves in a composed manner throughout the proceedings.According to him, they do not want a repetition of what happened in the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election in 2019. “We want peace, no one liked what happened at Ayawaso West Wuogon constituency during the by-election.

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We don’t want it to be repeated here. Parliament has also enacted a law, the police chief Dampare George Akuffo has also met the two main political parties. “We expect them to follow the law and follow the road map they themselves have set up.”Rt. Rev. Nuh Ben Abubekr has further urged the Electoral Commission (EC) and its representatives to carry out their duties without any form of bias.

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Stressing the importance of impartiality, he emphasized that the EC officials assigned to oversee the by-election should adhere to their training and fulfill their responsibilities diligently and fairly.Today, on Tuesday, May 23, voters in Kumawu will exercise their right to vote in 78 polling stations to elect a new Member of Parliament following the passing of the incumbent MP, Philip Basoah.

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The electorate will have the opportunity to choose among four candidates: Ernest Anim representing the NPP, Kwasi Amankwaa representing the NDC, and two independent candidates named Kwaku Duah.

Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency by-election was held on January 31, 2019 following the death of the Member of Parliament (MP), Emmanuel KyeremantengAgyarko, on November 21, 2018.On the day of the election,

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violence ensued. Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) final report on observation of the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency by-election revealed the following.

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Incidents RecordedThe intimidating presence of masked security persons at some polling stations in thecourse of Election Day: In some cases, these masked security operatives who wore khakiand black attire loaded themselves in vehicles and hovered around polling stations for awhile before leaving.

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Some observers noted that the mode of driving by some of thesesecurity operatives, even around such polling stations appeared quite reckless ordangerous.

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Some of the polling stations where these masked security operatives weresighted by observers included Opposite A & C Shopping Mall (East Legon), Restaurant C23/29 (Okponglo), Meteorological Service Mpehuasem (Okponglo), Little FlowersMontessori Prim and JHS (Dzorwulu), Bawaleshie Primary School 1 & 2 and AkuafoAnnex (Legon).

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The heavy presence of security personnel at various polling stations observed: CODEOobservers noted the high number of security personnel, including stationed uniformedpersonnel, mobile patrol teams, and non-uniformed personnel at polling stations visited.CODEO observers also noted that in some cases, mobile security operatives were fullyarmed. Some mobile patrol teams came in pick-ups, and what seemed like privatevehicles.

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CODEO observers also noted that, some plain-clothed security operatives who woreidentification tags with the inscription ‘NSCS’ did not appear to understand the electoralrules and processes and sought to intervene in electoral procedures.

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Some notableinstances are as follows: At the Presbyterian Church-Abelenkpe (1) polling station, some of these security operatives attempted to turn away some roaming accredited party agents from polling stations when indeed it was the main responsibility of the Presiding Officer to admit or deny access to a polling station;At the Prisons JHS at Roman Ridge where there were three adjoining pollingstations, some men in black attire, who identified

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themselves as National Security Officers and had accreditation tags with the inscription ‘NSCS OPS Ayawaso West Wuogon,’ positioned themselves close to poll officials. They were approached by uniformed police personnel who asked them to produce identification materials and to relocate from where they were – an instruction to which they obliged.

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Minutes later however, a pick-up with well-built men arrived at the polling station and these men rushed aggressively to the police personnel and accosted him for questioning and directing the security operatives to relocate.

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