An attempt to confirm President Akufo-Addo’s Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) nominee for the Yilo Krobo Assembly in the Eastern Region on Monday, turned chaotic and was suspended abruptly.
This was after some unidentified men claiming to be working with the National Security, stormed the venue to take away the ballot boxes.
The assembly members had on two occasions rejected the MCE nominee, Ebenezer Tetteh Kupualor.
Following the incident, there was heavy security at the assembly’s premises.
Speaking to journalists, the Presiding Member of the Assembly, William Appiansah, said he spoke against some heavily built men who were providing security at the place.
He added that his advice was not taken, as he was rather seen as someone who opposed the MCE nominee.
“The people of Yilo Krobo know that I cannot be moved or corrupted and I stand for the right [thing]. I am very sad because the confirmation of an MCE must not go along with macho men surrounding [ballot] boxes. It is rather unfortunate,” he said.
The Presiding Member maintained that, providing security for the confirmation exercise should not have been done by “macho men; it should have been just normal people because it will not change anything and that was what I said but nobody took it.”
“But instead, I have been seen as somebody who is preventing the fortunes of somebody,” Mr. Appiansah added.
Meanwhile, an Assembly member in the Yilo Krobo Assembly, Joseph who spoke on Eyewitness News on Monday, said the “macho men” and aides of the MCE nominee prevented people from getting to the ballot, adding that “the Police didn’t arrest the men who were disrupting the proceedings.”
“The men didn’t stop the voting; but they took over the counting. The men declared that the President’s MCE nominee had been approved after they counted.”
Joseph said the Regional Minister who was also present at the ceremony failed to call the macho men to order.
“‘I’m not the only Assemblyman in the area who disputed the results,” he added.
But the Eastern Regional Minister, Eric Darfour, who also spoke on Eyewitness News discounted the claims.
“I sat with the Presiding Member at the high table but I didn’t see what he’s complaining about. There were security personnel present at the Yilo Krobo confirmation exercise. The security personnel were in uniform and could be easily identified. At the end of the vote, the Presiding Member said he was abstaining, which the assemblymen weren’t happy with.”
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(Via: CitiFM Online Ghana)
