EC officials flee as gun shots are fired at Awutu Senya East

Electoral Commission officers reportedly took to their heels at the Steps to Christ registration centre at Kasoa in the Awutu Senya East Constituency when gunmen stormed the premises.

The officials closed down the centre and fled from the hail of fire when confusion broke out during the ongoing registration exercise.

According to eyewitnesses account, the gunmen numbering at least 15 arrived at the centre and tried to sack some applicants.

This resulted in a brawl. In the ensuing melee, gunshots were fired and motorbikes set ablaze.

Although the identity of the gunmen are yet to be established, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the constituency claims the incumbent Member of Parliament, Hawa Koomson, who doubles as the Minister of Development and Special Initiatives, is to be blamed for the chaos.

“The situation here is like a war zone. What happened was that Hawa Koomson, the Minister for Special Development came here and instructed her boys to shoot and kill people at the centre……because the bullets can be found in people homes and shops so it was a targeted shooting” the NDC Parliamentary candidate, Phyllis Naa Koryoo, alleged.

“This is not an attack on the NDC but an attack on Ghanaians and the good people of Kasoa are discerning and will reward Honourable Hawa Koomson come December 7.

“This is an attack on the good people of Ghana, and we are tired of these hooligans as the police look unconcerned…we will rise up and defend ourselves” she warned.

It is unclear why the armed men wanted some registrants out of the centre, but calm returned to the centre after the registration was halted.

“Because of this, the centre has been closed down, we don’t know when they are going to come back because the EC officers fear for their lives,” Naa Koryoo told JoyNews monitored by theghanareport.com.

MP’s response

Calls, text messages and Whatsapp messages sent to Ms Koomson to get her side of the story were not responded to.

Meanwhile, the Kasoa Police have visited the scene and have opened investigations into the incident.