Enough Is Enough Demo NDC Thugs Vandalise EC Office At Kumasi

On Tuesday, September 17, 2024, the demonstration by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) against so-called discrepancies in the voter register descended into chaos, resulting in the destruction of Electoral Commission (EC) properties in some EC offices across the country.

What should have been a peaceful protest turned into a violent confrontation, raising serious questions about the NDC’s tactics in the lead-up to the 2024 elections.

For instance, about 5,000 NDC supporters gathered at the party’s Ashanti regional headquarters in Amakuom at approximately 10:30 am, marching toward the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council (ARCC).

Despite a peaceful start, the protest took a dark turn when NDC Regional Chairman Nana Akwasi Agyeman blatantly defied police instructions. Instead of submitting their petition as planned, he allegedly led the demonstrators to the EC’s regional office, disregarding the law and setting the stage for violent unrest.

The police, opting for restraint, refrained from using firearms to control the crowd. However, the situation escalated dramatically, and the officers were compelled to fire tear gas to disperse the increasingly aggressive mob. In response, the protesters pelted stones at the police, stormed the EC premises, and shattered the main glass doors in an appalling display of lawlessness. As widely reported in the media, the damage to EC properties is extensive, and it marks yet another disturbing episode in a pattern of violence associated with the opposition NDC.

In a statement, the Ghana Police Service on Tuesday, September 17 stated that the NDC allowed their protestors to push their way into the premises of the EC and pelted the Police with stones.

"In Kumasi, contrary to the arrangements agreed between the Police and the organizers, the demonstrators attempted to push their way into the premises of the Electoral Commission and pelted the Police with stones. The Police managed to bring the situation under control and calm was restored.

However, one Police officer was injured during the incident and he is receiving medical attention. The Inspector-General of Police, Dr George Akuffo Dampare, has reached out to him via a telephone call and wished him well. The Police have since commenced investigation into the incident," the statement signed by Director of PR, Grace Ansah-Akrofi, Assistant Commissioner of Police.Ghanaian Chronicle