Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has claimed that the police have inadvertently secured the Awutu Senya East parliamentary seat for the party’s candidate, Phillis Naa Koryoo Okunor, by arresting and detaining her in what he sees as an attempt to intimidate her.
“If the government was seeking to break the spirit of Naa Koryoo with that politically organised arrest, they have rather handed over the Awutu Senya East parliamentary seat to the young woman, who by all standards towers over and above the incumbent,” the former president said in a live broadcast on Sunday, June 9.
Mr. Mahama criticized the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) government, accusing them of practicing inequality and selective justice.
He pointed to an incident involving the current Awutu Senya East MP, Hawa Koomson, who fired a gun at a voter registration center without facing consequences, in contrast to Naa Koryoo’s detention for legally possessing a firearm.
He accused the police of politically motivated actions, suggesting that their use of discretionary power to arrest has been unfair and biased.
“The inequality and selective justice of this government are gullying, otherwise, how could Hawa Koomson, who fired a weapon at a registration centre and boasted about it, walk away free and a parliamentary candidate for Awutu Senya East is detained partly because the very police that issued her with a firearm’s license misspelt her name?” he said.
Despite these challenges, Mr. Mahama remains confident that Madam Okunor will emerge victorious in the parliamentary race.