General News of Thursday, 22 September 2016

Source: starrfmonline.com

EC closes Buipe office over NDC, NPP clash

The scuffle taken from a distance The scuffle taken from a distance

The Electoral Commission’s office in the Central Gonja district of the Northern region has reportedly been shut down Thursday following a clash between supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

Officers of the commission locked up the offices and reached the police after members of the two rivalry parties went on rampage at the premises over a misunderstanding in the ongoing votes transfer exercise.

The commission has therefore suspended temporarily the process in the area. The NPP communications officer for the Yapei/Kusawgu constituency told Starr News the NDC parliamentary candidate for the constituency, Mr. John Jinapor, must be blamed for the clash.

According to Ibrahim Mahafuzu Sappor, the misunderstanding ensued after the NDC parliamentary nominee sponsored the busing of non- residents to engage in the exercise.

“We were observing the transfer and all of a sudden two Urvan buses came with the intension that they wanted to do the transfer. Upon interrogation, we realised they were all from Damongo so we laid a complaint to the EC boss, one Alhaji, and he told us to use the challenge system.

“So we were about to use the challenge system when some NDC youth came around and started shouting and our agents too said then we will all use force and it resulted into the scuttle", Mr. Sappor explained.

No casualty was recorded and the police has dispersed the crowd.