The National Peace Council (NPC), the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP), and other partners in the Election Situation Room have condemned the vandalism and arson at the Electoral Commission (EC) office and collation centre in Damongo, Savannah Region.
Earlier today, Sunday December 8, reports emerged of party supporters gathering at the collation centre, disputing parliamentary results. According to the NPC’s Savannah regional office, the presence of security personnel initially prevented the supporters from vandalising the centre.
However, tensions escalated, and the Savannah Regional Peace Council (RPC) facilitated a dialogue, resulting in an agreement for the military and party supporters to withdraw from the collation centre to allow the tallying process to continue. Unfortunately, shortly after the withdrawal of security personnel and RPC colleagues, the EC office and collation centre were attacked and set ablaze.
The NPC emphasised the importance of political supporters withdrawing from collation centres and allowing accredited agents to observe the collation process.
They called on party leaders to publicly urge their supporters to leave the collation centres.
The NPC also urged all parties to allow EC personnel to perform their duties with professionalism and integrity to ensure a free, fair, and transparent election.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Police Service has announced the arrest of 12 suspects in connection with the destruction of the EC office in Damongo.
ACP Grace Ansah-Akrofi, Director of the Police Public Affairs Directorate, announcing the arrest at a presser in Accra on Sunday noted that preliminary investigation had established that the suspects attacked and caused damage to some state assets, including the setting ablaze of the EC office in Damongo in the Savannah Region, causing damage to some residences of the district chief executives in some parts of the country and vandalising some collation centres.
“Additionally, some of these suspects broke into the school feeding programme warehouse in Tamale and made away with some items, including food stuff. Footages of the attack, vandalism and looting have been obtained and are being reviewed by a team of investigators to get the perpetrators arrested to face justice,” she added.
ACP Ansah-Akrofi urged the public to remain calm as police officers had been deployed to key locations with intensified patrols to maintain law and order.
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