The National Chairman of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo has appealed to supporters of the party to remain calm after gunshots were fired at some of them at a polling station at La-Bawaleshie in the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency during Thursday’s by-election.

Some macho men in NSC-branded t-shirts who are suspected to be members of a vigilante group attacked some voters at the Presby JHS polling station and fired at them.

Accra100.5FM’s Fred Alvis Agbenyo, who was at the scene to cover the event, reported that the macho men, numbering about 200, got furious when some voters started taking pictures of them and videoing them.

According to Fred Agbenyo, the macho men destroyed polling station Basic One and carried the ballot boxes away.

Addressing a press conference after the incident on Thursday, 31 January 2018, Mr Ofosu-Ampofo said the NDC “felt that this seat is no more important than any single life that will be lost. So, under the circumstances, we have withdrawn our agents”.

“We are appealing to all our supporters and sympathisers not to undertake any reprisal attack. We are calling on all our party supporters to remain calm,” he added.

He explained that: “The NDC is not the body organising the election. We cannot call off the election. We have decided to withdraw our agents.

“We are sending a clear signal to the Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) and the President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo that the democracy that we have all fought for, is under siege. Today is a very sad day for democracy and the NDC cannot and will not condone that”.

The party chairman further revealed that the NDC will be sending a delegation to the office of the Electoral Commission (EC) and the office of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to forward their grievances to them for redress.