Special Aide to former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Akosua Asaa Manu, has called on government to immediately investigate the violent incidents that marred the Ablekuma North parliamentary rerun, describing the silence and inaction that followed as a betrayal of public trust.
Speaking on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana on Monday, July 14, 2025, Madam Akosua Manu described what happened at the St. Peter’s Society Methodist Church polling station—where former MP and Minister for fisheries, Hawa Koomson and other party agents were brutally assaulted—was not only criminal but a direct attack on Ghana’s democratic stability.
“This is not something we can sweep under the rug,” she said. “Women were beaten. A parliamentary candidate was attacked. A journalist was slapped and humiliated. And up until now, no one has been arrested. That is unacceptable in a democracy.”
The re-run, held to resolve a prolonged stalemate following the December 2024 general elections, was expected to be peaceful. However, it turned violent when masked and heavily built men stormed the polling station, disrupting voting and causing panic among voters and electoral officers.
The most high-profile victim of the violence was former Minister and MP for Awutu Senya East, Mavis Hawa Koomson, who was physically assaulted in the melee. Disturbing footage circulated on social media showed her being shoved to the ground, with eyewitnesses alleging that she was kicked and stomped on.
Madam Akosua Manu, referencing Ghana’s painful history of electoral violence, placed part of the blame on the culture of political thuggery that has gone unchecked for too long.
“We have been here before. We saw it in Akwatia, Atiwa, Chereponi, and Ayawaso West Wuogon. The difference is, when it happened under the NPP, the President—then Nana Akufo-Addo—set up a Commission of Inquiry. We didn’t pretend it didn’t happen. We took responsibility and moved to reform,” she said.
“But today,” she continued, “we have a situation where the NDC wins a seat that was contested under such bloody circumstances, and yet no one in their leadership has even condemned the violence. Their silence is deafening. Their silence is complicity.”
The Ablekuma North rerun saw NDC candidate Ewurabena Aubynn declared winner with 34,090 votes, narrowly defeating the NPP’s Nana Akua Afriyie, who polled 33,881 votes. However, the 2024 Parliamentary Candidate for the Adentan Constituency insists that the outcome of the election must not overshadow the gravity of what occurred.
“You cannot normalize violence just because your side won. That is dangerous. That is how democracies collapse—slowly, when we excuse the unacceptable,” she warned.
She further challenged government, led by President John Mahama, to rise above partisan lines and demonstrate a genuine commitment to justice.
“We cannot let politics get in the way of protecting citizens,” she said. “The President, the Interior Ministry, and the Ghana Police Service must do their jobs. Arrest the perpetrators. Investigate the incident fully. Let the people of Ghana know that no one is above the law,” she added.
