Chaos at Odorkor Polling Station Halts Voting as Hawa Koomson Sparks Altercation During Ablekuma North Re-run

Voting was temporarily suspended at the Methodist Church Odorkor 1 polling station on Friday during the parliamentary re-run in the Ablekuma North Constituency following a disturbance involving political party agents and former Awutu Senya East MP, Hawa Koomson.

Eyewitnesses reported that confusion erupted after Ms. Koomson visited the polling station to observe proceedings. She initially complied with the process but returned later, allegedly defying police orders to vacate the premises.

Tensions escalated when some party supporters, observing from outside the church, reacted angrily to her continued presence. During the confrontation, it is alleged that Ms. Koomson discharged pepper spray into the crowd, prompting a chaotic response that disrupted the voting process.

Security personnel swiftly intervened, escorting the former MP out of the premises through a rear exit of the church.

Prior to the incident, the Presiding Officer, Maame Ama Gyanfuah, confirmed that 126 out of 464 registered voters had cast their ballots. The altercation occurred around 11:00 a.m., but calm was restored by 11:40 a.m. as police secured the area and prevented further unauthorized access.

The Daily Graphic team observed physical scuffles at the church entrance and noted the presence of several National Democratic Congress (NDC) officials, including Deputy General Secretary Mustapha Gbande, Legal Affairs Head Edudzi Tamakloe, Deputy Communications Director Malik Basintale, and NDC National Chairman Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, who was touring polling stations.

Other Polling Stations:

Voting continued without incident at other polling centres across the constituency. At Odorkor Tsunami, however, a journalist with the EIB Network was reportedly assaulted by a police officer.

At five other polling stations visited by the Daily Graphic, voting was smooth with party agents and heavy security visibly present:

Church of Pentecost North Odorkor 2 (Tsunami): 22 out of 67 voters had voted by 9:40 a.m.

Church of Pentecost North Odorkor 4: 31 out of 137 voters by 9:45 a.m.

Presby Church Odorkor 4: 41 out of 112 voters by 10:00 a.m.

Living Spring Day Nursery Kwashie Bu 1: 180 out of 428 voters by 10:40 a.m.

Lord’s Pentecostal Church Kwashie Polling Station C: 165 out of 563 voters by 11:00 a.m.

Background:

The parliamentary re-run in Ablekuma North aims to finalize the 2024 parliamentary election results. Out of 280 polling stations, results from 261 have already been collated.

Nana Akua Afriyie, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate, currently holds a narrow lead with 32,512 votes — just 48 votes ahead of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate, Ewurabena Aubynn, who has 32,464 votes.

A total of 6,639 eligible voters are expected to cast their ballots in the remaining 19 polling stations at yesterday around 3:00pm.