Assin South MP Rev. John Ntim Fordjour Condemns Violence at Ablekuma North Rerun, Calls for Peaceful Voting

By Joylinda Laryea / July 11, 2025

The Member of Parliament for Assin South, Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, has strongly condemned the violent disruptions that marred the parliamentary rerun at the St. Peter’s Society polling station in the Ablekuma North constituency on Friday, July 11, 2025.

The chaos unfolded when a group of unidentified men stormed the polling station, attacking voters and election officials, forcing a temporary suspension of the voting process. Among those assaulted were the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) parliamentary candidate, Nana Akua Afriyie, and former Fisheries Minister, Mavis Hawa Koomson.

Speaking to the media after the incident, Rev. Ntim Fordjour expressed deep concern over the violent turn of events and urged all stakeholders to maintain calm.

“Ghana is all that we have; it is important that we make it peaceful. Democracy must be an expression of opinions through voting to determine your decision. It shouldn’t degenerate into the kind of violence we have seen today,” he said.

He further stressed the need to condemn the violence in the strongest terms, emphasizing that “democracy is all we have; let us continue to make voting day a very peaceful day, everyone will look up to.”

Rev. Fordjour warned that such violence threatens to undermine Ghana’s democratic gains and damage the country’s reputation. “It’s not good for the reputation Ghana has. We need to move beyond violence,” he stated.

On the issue of security deployment, Rev. Fordjour commented on Defence Minister Dr. Edward Omane Boamah’s decision not to deploy military personnel to polling stations, saying the matter would be reviewed and discussed as necessary.

Meanwhile, Rev. Ntim Fordjour encouraged NPP supporters to participate peacefully in the voting process, urging, “We’re encouraging everyone to go out peacefully to vote. Peace is what we need in this country; violence is not what we need.”