National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama, had hoped for a peaceful protest, but chaos erupted in Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti Region.
Protesters clashed with police ahead of the party’s presentation of their petition to the Electoral Commission (EC) during the ‘Enough is Enough’ demonstration.
The demonstration aimed to highlight alleged irregularities in the provisional voters’ register ahead of the upcoming general elections.
The NDC is demanding an independent forensic audit of the voters’ register, citing concerns such as missing names, duplicate voter identification numbers, and unauthorised transfers of voters into different constituencies.
To express their dissatisfaction, the opposition party organised nationwide demonstrations across all sixteen regions, with the goal of delivering a petition to the Commission.
In the Ashanti Region, a large number of protesters marched from Amakom through Asafo, then to Adum, Dakwadwom, and the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC), before finally reaching the Regional EC office.
The march remained peaceful until one protester attempted to break through a police barrier, claiming it was their constitutional right to see the EC accept their petition.
As the police tried to prevent him, others forced their way into the EC premises, which were originally only supposed to be accessed by the protest leaders.
During this confrontation, some protesters sustained injuries, and the main gate to the EC’s premises, along with another gate, was damaged.
The EC has stated that it will file an official complaint over the disturbances. Reports indicated that the protester who instigated the chaos was arrested, along with two others, though they were later released. The injured were taken to the hospital for treatment.
There were also claims of police shooting, which the police denied in a statement issued shortly after the media reports surfaced.
Meanwhile, the NDC has formally presented its petition to Parliament in Accra.
The party’s General Secretary, Fifi Kwetey, summarised the NDC’s key demands following the ‘Enough Is Enough’ protest held on Tuesday.