Dennis Miracles Aboagye,an aide to the New Patriotic Party’s 2024 presidential candidate, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has condemned what he described as the “completely shameful” assault of journalists and the heavy police presence during the parliamentary election rerun in Ghana’s Ablekuma North constituency.
Mr. Aboagye made the comments in a social media post on Thursday, expressing outrage over reports that two journalists—one from Joy News and another from GHOne TV—were attacked while covering the polls.
According to local media, the GHOne reporter was allegedly slapped, while the Joy News journalist was reportedly manhandled by individuals present at one of the polling stations.
“Journalism is not a crime and should not be met with brutality,” Mr Aboagye said.
He also raised concerns over what he called “hoodlums in police uniforms”, suggesting that such individuals should be removed from polling centres to help restore public confidence in the electoral process.
Mr Aboagye added that the intimidating behaviour of some security personnel may have discouraged voters from participating in the rerun.
Despite the incidents, he called for calm and reaffirmed the NPP’s commitment to a peaceful, fair, and transparent election.
The Electoral Commission ordered the rerun in 19 polling stations following irregularities during the initial vote. Authorities say security has since been reinforced in the area.
