Voter Register: Ellembelle NPP candidate cleared, displays card to residents

The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate for Ellembelle Constituency of the Western Region, Kwasi Bonzoh on Saturday, August 15, 2020, displayed his voter's identification card (voter's ID card) to residents of Awiebo and Basake.

On Saturday, August 1, 2020, the Ellembelle NPP parliamentary candidate who is also the District Chief Executive (DCE) for the area was challenged over his residential status at Awiebo Junction voter registration centre after registering for the voter ID card.

Kwasi Bonzoh whose father hails from Awiebo, was challenged by Solomon Isaac, voter registration agent for the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).

According to the NDC agent, the Ellembelle NPP parliamentary candidate doesn't reside in the area and doesn't have the right to register and vote in the area.

On Tuesday, August 11, 2020, the challenger, Solomon and the challenged person, Kwasi Bonzoh, appeared before the Ellembelle District Registration Review Committee.

But, surprisingly, the challenger, Solomon Isaac discontinued his case and asked the Committee to give back the Ellembelle NPP Parliamentary candidate's voter ID card.

According to him, the Ellembelle NDC parliamentary candidate who is the MP for the area Emmanuel Armah Kofi-Buah had pleaded with him to discontinue the challenge procedure and urge the Committee to give back the voter ID card to his opponent, Mr. Kwasi Bonzoh.

"I told the Committee to give the voter ID card to Kwasi Bonzoh because my chiefs and Emmanuel Armah Kofi-Buah have pleaded with me to discontinue the challenge procedure and they are my elders so I have to respect their appeal", Solomon Isaac told the media immediately after sitting.

However, the Ellembelle NPP Parliamentary candidate who had earlier told the media that he was going to win the case and get his voter ID card, stormed Awiebo where he hails from and also challenged and a nearby Community, Basake on Saturday, August, 14, 2020 and displayed his voter's ID card before Chiefs and elders amidst fanfare.

Addressing the Chiefs and people of Awiebo and Basake on Saturday, Kwasi Bonzoh reiterated that everybody in Ellembelle knows that he hails from Awiebo so it was needless for him to be challenged.

"Everybody in Ellembelle knows that my father comes from Awiebo and most unfortunate aspect is that, the NDC agent who challenged me is not from Awiebo. He couldn't provide evidence because he is not from Awiebo", he stated.

He added that "Nobody has the right to stop me from registering and voting at Awiebo because I come from here, my name Bonzoh I got it from Awiebo here".

Kwasi Bonzoh boasted that the NDC had realized that they made a wrong move by challenging his eligibility because "the NDC has made me more popular, the media is talking about me"

"I wasn't expecting it to happen, the NDC thought they were going to stop me from registering so that I can't contest in the upcoming parliamentary elections but they have been exposed, my case is like Joseph's situation where his brothers hated him and sold him to Egypt thinking that Joseph would be killed there but later Joseph became a prime minister in Egypt, everybody at Awiebo here bears witness that my father comes here, my father is not a stranger here. Let's look at this example, Samia Yaba Nkrumah came to contest for MP in Jomoro and won, his father and mother are not from Jomoro, Samia Yaba Nkrumah went to Jomoro to contest because her grandfather comes from Half Assini in Jomoro so how much Kwasi Bonzoh whose father comes Awiebo and he is still alive, I can't understand it and so many people don't understand it", he stressed.

He continued, "the NDC has failed in their agenda against me, they know that this time around I will win massively at Awiebo hence their panicking, but I want to assure them that this time around I will win massively at Awiebo here and unseat Emmanuel Armah Kofi-Buah".

He, therefore, took the opportunity to thank Nananom of Awiebo for bringing the two political parties together after the incident and emphasized that, "I didn't breach any Electoral law and the 1992 constitution because the Article 94 (b) is cleared so I qualify to register at my father's hometown".

He ended his speech by advising his supporters to maintain the peaceful coexistence in the area and avoid any acts of intimidation.

Mr. Kwasi Bonzoh is expected to contest for the third time against the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Emmanuel Armah Kofi-Buah come December 7 polls in Ellembelle Constituency.