NDC chair accused of attacking registration review committee

The District Registration Review Committee set up to verify the eligibility or ineligibility of persons challenged during the just ended limited registration exercise conducted by the Electoral Commission (EC) in the Dormaa area has suspended sitting due to consistent threats by the Constituency Chairman of the NDC for Dormaa Central, Mr. Kofi Ansu Power.

Mr. Kofi Ansu Power has threatened to lock up members of the District Registration Review Committee and organize ‘macho men’ to beat them mercilessly if they continue to review cases before them.

Though the Registration Review Committee has the Constituency Secretary of the NDC on it, together with representatives of all the political parties, Police and the Traditional Council, Mr. Kofi Ansu believes things were not going in favour of the NDC, since most of the cases the NDC challenged had been dismissed.

Despite the Review Committee having the powers of a tribunal, after its members were sworn in by the Dormaa Circuit Court Judge, his honor Osei Kofi Amoako on April 21, 2016, with Katakyie Ansu Gyeabour, Dormaa Adomankomahene, as its chairman, Mr. Kofi Ansu disregarded the powers and authority of the committee and its members, indicating that he can deal with them ruthlessly if they continue to mess up.

The Dormaa Municipal Director of the Electoral Commission, Mr. Christian Offei Boafo, speaking in an interview with The Chronicle on Thursday, May 19, 2016, said while the Committee was doing its work, the NDC constituency chairman stormed the place and furiously assaulted members verbally accusing them of bias towards the NDC.

Members of the committee were not happy about the attitude and actions of the NDC chairman, but the Constituency Secretary of the NDC, Mr. Mark Kyeremeh, who is a representative on the Review Committee apologized on behalf of the Chairman and the Committee resolved to continue their work.

Mr. Christian Offei Boafo continued that on Friday, May 20, 2016, during the committee sitting, the NDC chairman again stormed the venue and repeated the insults and accusations, with a threat to lock up members of the committee in the room and bring in macho men to brutalize them.

He said after the threat by Mr. Kofi Ansu, members of the Registration Review Committee unanimously agreed to suspend sitting till they were aware and convinced that their security is assured and guaranteed before sitting could be resumed.

On what really made Mr. Kofi Ansu attack the committee members, Mr. Christian Offei Boafo narrated that personally he could not tell, but could recall that one of the cases involved a boy who was challenged for not attaining the 18 years.

He said whilst reviewing that particular case, the boy could not provide any document requested by the committee, such as birth certificate, baptismal certificate, weighing card and the mother of the boy too could not provide anything to prove the boy was 18 years.

Mr. Christian Offei Boafo continued that when the boy was asked whether he has been in school before, he responded in the negative.

The mother of the boy also confirmed that the son had never been to school before. However, the person who challenged the ineligibility of the boy to register because he was under age, was the direct uncle and insisted that the boy attended Presbyterian Primary School and Roman Catholic Primary at Antwerefo.

The Headmaster of the Presbyterian Primary School at Antwerefo was subsequently called to testify.

The headmaster confirmed that the boy is a pupil at the school and is in class six and will be going to JHS 1 next year.

Based on this, the committee members resolved that the boy and the mother have both lied to the committee so they must be sent to the police station for further questioning.

This, he believed, incensed the NDC Chairman who disregarded the presence of the Constituency Secretary and took the law into his own hands to misbehave towards the committee.

When Mr. Kofi Ansu Power was contacted, he did not deny, but asked this reporter which weapon he went to the meeting place of the Review committee with, to warrant the claim that he halted proceedings of the Committee.