Tensions erupted at the Koforidua Police Headquarters in the Eastern Region during the special voting exercise following a heated altercation over voting perimeter restrictions.The incident involved Tijani Mikano, the New Juaben South Organizer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), who clashed with security personnel after resisting instructions to leave the voting perimeter.

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Mikano insisted he would only comply if a New Patriotic Party (NPP) representative, accused of campaigning within the restricted area, was also removed.“The EC has given us a parameter in which we should distance ourselves from the voters, but the NPP is campaigning in the queue so I also decided to campaign with my team, but the EC says it is not allowed.

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If it is not allowed, they should drive the others back so the voters can cast their vote…,” Mikano explained.The situation escalated into a heated exchange, attracting the attention of voters, security personnel, and Electoral Commission (EC) officials at the scene.According to Darlington Annan, the presiding officer, the NDC executive was misinformed about the activities of the NPP representative.

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He clarified that the NPP representative, who had caused a disturbance, had already been asked to leave the queue.“He [the NPP representative] was moving around and was asked to move from the queue because he was causing a nuisance to the voters, so he was advised to leave the queue.

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But as he was going, the opponent thought he was interfering, so they wanted to know what was happening, and in the process, it escalated to a debate between them,” Annan recounted.JoyNews reported that EC officials and police officers intervened to de-escalate the situation. Both parties were subsequently escorted away from the premises, and calm was restored. Voting resumed without further interruptions.

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Meanwhile, in the Western Region, the special voting exercise progressed smoothly with little to no reported incidents.It is worth noting that the special voting, originally scheduled for Monday across all 14 regions, was delayed in the Eastern and Western regions due to a mishap that required the Electoral Commission to recall and reprint ballot papers.

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