Confusion and uncertainty engulfed the rerun of the Walewale constituency parliamentary primaries of the New Patriotic Party held on Monday, 9th September.
The Electoral Commission (EC) has subsequently declared the election as null and void.
The chaotic scene occurred when an individual, Kamara Bawa, believed to be an agent of one of the two contestants, snatched ballot papers during sorting, resulting in some ballots being destroyed.
Athough counting is yet to be done, both candidates are claiming victory.
Peacefmonline.com can confirm that the ruling party will now have to decide on the next course of action regarding who represents the party in the constituency for the December parliamentary election, since the primary was an internal party event.
The first election which was held in January this year was annulled by the High Court in Tamale after it found electoral breaches which included impersonation.
The incumbent Member of Parliament for the constituency, Hajia Lariba Abudu, filed a suit against her contender, Dr. K. B. Mahama, claiming he was wrongfully adjudged winner.
The rerun following the court order which was yesterday, was fraught with another controversy after the agent for one of the candidates reportedly disrupted the process.
Kamara Bawa is alleged to have sensed defeat of his candidate during counting of the ballots, thereby causing chaos by interrupting the electoral process.
He is said to have scattered the boxes during sorting of ballots, which commenced around late afternoon.
Bawa reportedly grabbed several ballot papers and attempted to flee, but was apprehended by the police, who fired warning shots to restore order.
The ballot papers were subsequently taken to the police station, where party officials and the EC considered whether to continue counting.
After reviewing the damaged ballots, the EC decided to nullify the election results.
Meanwhile, police have since detained Kamara Bawah for causing damage to the ballot papers, and security has been reinforced within Walewale and surrounding areas to maintain order
The party is now tasked with fixing a new date for the election before the deadline for filing nominations at the end of the week.
Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana
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