ZEBILLA, Ghana -- The Bawku West District Electoral Officer, Mr Thomas Biyimba, on Friday described as untrue allegations that four of the ballot boxes meant for that constituency had been stolen by one of the parliamentary candidates there.

He assured the people of the area that all the 110 ballot boxes allocated to the constituency are safely locked up at the Zebilla police station. Mr Biyimba was speaking to the Ghana News Agency at Zebilla following a violent protest by Mr John Ndebugre, PNC parliamentary candidate for the area, and his supporters last Wednesday, claiming that some ballot boxes had gone into the wrong hands.

The Electoral Officer explained that the four ballot boxes in question had been kept in his office long before the rest of the consignments were brought from Bolgatanga earlier this week, and therefore looked dirty.

He said he engaged some boys to go and clean up those four boxes, adding that it was in the process that some residents who saw them being carried out suspected wrongly and raised a false alarm.

Commenting on the incident, Police Inspector Daniel Boakye, officer in charge of the district police unit, said at about 1920 hours last Wednesday, the police were holding a pre-arranged meeting with Mr Cletus Avoka, MP for the area, on security matters when Mr Ndebugre arrived with a group of rowdy supporters to besiege the police station.

Inspector Boakye said the group hurled insults at both the police and the MP, demanding reasons for the latter's presence at the police station where ballot boxes were being kept.

They therefore insisted that Mr Avoka, who is also the NDC parliamentary candidate for the area, should leave the police station before they would also leave.

Police Inspector Boakye warned that the police would not countenance such acts of indiscipline in future, saying that Mr Ndebugre should show leadership by example.

He said the police are non-partisan and that their doors are open to all party candidates who have business doing there.