Ablekuma Central by-election cannot be rigged, Kanga

Accra (Greater Accra) 26 March '99

Mr David Kanga, Deputy Electoral Commissioner, on Friday stressed that there was no way the Ablekuma Central by-election could be rigged. He said all suspicions should stop so that voting would end peacefully. Mr Kanga was speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) which informed him about an incident in which the New Patriotic Party (NPP) had allegedly accused the National Democratic Congress (NDC) of dumping "some papers" in its office at Zabon Zongo,(Gaskia) which, they claimed, were ballot papers. This led to misunderstanding and trading of insults at the Gaskia area. Mr Kanga said with the voting system introduced by the Electoral Commission, there was no way for anybody to rig the poll. "Even me, David Kanga, if I have ballot papers in my pocket I cannot dump them in a ballot box without detection." He said Ghanaian voting practices have been the envy of the outside world and he would condemn any lawlessness and violence that might erupt during the voting. "We want peace and fair play in this country and with the vigilance of polling agents, there should be no disturbances." Mr Kanga said no major problem has been brought to his notice, adding that everything was being done smoothly. "Although the turn-out is encouraging, I expect it will increase during the course of the day." He said the presence of any Minister or party official in the constituency should not create panic unless they interfere with the voting procedures.