The Director of Communications for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Richard Ahiagbah, has launched a blistering attack on the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), accusing the party of deliberately sidelining state security agencies during the Ablekuma North parliamentary rerun and instead deploying partisan thugs to intimidate voters.
In an exclusive interview on Channel One Newsroom on Monday, July 14, Ahiagbah alleged that the NDC manipulated the entire security setup around the rerun, creating an atmosphere of fear aimed at suppressing NPP voter turnout and manipulating the outcome in their favor.
“They know they lost, but somehow they wanted to win, so the only way they can win it is to have this rerun under a certain appearance of security which was not there,” Ahiagbah said. “They allowed their boys to provide security for the election in a way that was intimidating and ensured that nobody felt safe to go and vote except their people. Why haven’t they arrested anybody?” he questioned.
According to Ahiagbah, the violence and chaos that marred the rerun were far from spontaneous. He insisted it was a calculated effort by the ruling party to seize control through fear and voter suppression.
He did not mince words in condemning what he described as the state’s complete failure to uphold its duty of protecting citizens during the electoral process.
“The state was supposed to provide security, but they failed. Rather, they had the state security demobilised and they mobilised their security,” he said.
Ahiagbah’s remarks come at a time when concerns are mounting over escalating political violence and growing distrust in the integrity of Ghana’s electoral processes. The rerun, ordered to resolve a dispute from the 2024 general elections, has now become a flashpoint for questions surrounding security manipulation and voter intimidation.
As pressure builds on the government to account for the security lapses, Ahiagbah’s criticism adds fuel to the already heated political climate, with calls for investigations and accountability continuing to intensify.