Council of State Elections Re-runs on Monday

On Monday, February 17, 2025, there would be a rerun of elections in Kumasi to elect a representative from the Ashanti Region to the Council of State.

The elections was originally to have been held last Tuesday but the process was disrupted and truncated when a group of men invaded the premises to disrupt the process, vandalize property, scatter electoral materials and assault innocent journalists.

The rerun scheduled for Monday is expected to be held amidst a super tight security.

The polls were held at the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) in Kumasi on Tuesday but it was disrupted
Because of the condemnable interference, the Electoral Commission (EC) officials present could not decide the winner of the election.

According to a top police source in Kumasi, the important polls has been rescheduled to take place on Monday morning at the same venue, amid tight security.

He said only accredited people would be allowed access to the voting grounds as part of new security measures by the police to help avert a repeat of nasty scenes.

The police source therefore admonished residents in the region, especially those that are not accredited, not to come close to the election venue in their own interest.

He also said the police was not sweeping the Tuesday’s violent scenes at the RCC under the carpet, disclosing that police were still investigating the case thoroughly.

The source assured that in due time those involved in the chaotic spectacle would be apprehended to help assist the security agencies in their investigations.

It was shocking that the scores of police officers on duty when the unlawful invasion occurred did not arrest a single one of the men who invaded the place to disrupt the process but hours after the incident, the Ghana Police Service has issued an official statement that it is on a manhunt for the assailants.

Whereas the statement said, “Police are currently reviewing all available footage to identify and arrest the perpetrators and bring them to justice”, the same footage of the incident, which went gone viral on social media, showed several police officers present during the attacks and some of them were seen attempting the separate the fights that broke out during the attacks.

How can policemen on official duty fail to arrest a group of law breakers who they saw and touched but wait for the attackers to leave the scene then issue a statement to announce a manhunt for them.
The elections, was to decide on a representative from the Ashanti Region for the high office of Council of State – a noble institution mandated by the Constitution of Ghana to “Consider and advise the President or any other authority in respect of any appointment which is required by the Constitution or any other law to be made in accordance with the advice of, or in consultation with, the Council of State”

Chapter 9 of the Constitution Article 89(1) states that “There shall be a Council of State to counsel the President in the performance of his functions”.

It further states that “upon request or on its own initiative, the Council of State is to consider and make recommendation on any matter being considered or dealt with by the President, a Minister of State, parliament, or any other authority established by the Constitution “.

Early reports which have not been indecently verified alleges the group of invaders were hired by a losing contestant to disrupt the process; a rather undemocratic method that injured the integrity of the process to elect a Council of State member.

The group of unidentified thugs forcefully overpowered security present and invaded the election center, hijacked the electoral process and disrupted the sorting and counting of validly cast ballots.

They forcefully overturned tables, destroyed ballot boxes, and scattered voting materials. Journalists who were seen videoing the disruption were not spared: some of them were psychically attacked and forced to delete videos and images they had captured during the vandalism and disruption.