New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary aspirant Mr. Okatakyie Afrifa Mensah was arrested by officers of the Ashanti North Regional Police Command on Sunday morning after visiting the venue of a disputed constituency election in the Afigya Sekyere East Constituency, according to a statement issued by his family, legal representatives and campaign team.
The statement said Mr. Afrifa Mensah was arrested at approximately 7:30 a.m. while seeking to notify electoral officials of a High Court injunction and a directive from the NPP’s National Steering Committee suspending the constituency’s electoral process.
According to the statement, the NPP National Steering Committee, acting through the Acting National Chairman on July 6, ordered the immediate suspension of the Afigya Sekyere East Constituency Executive Committee elections pending the determination of an ongoing court case.
The directive reportedly instructed that all election-related activities be halted until further notice.
The statement further indicated that the suspension followed an interim injunction issued by the High Court in Kumasi, restraining the party and its officials from proceeding with aspects of the constituency electoral process until the substantive application before the court is determined.
Despite the suspension and court order, the statement alleged that some constituency officials, led by Nana Nkansah Buadu, proceeded with preparations for the election, including the printing of ballot papers and constituency delegates’ albums, before attempting to conduct the polls on Sunday.
Mr. Afrifa Mensah’s team said he visited the election centre solely to verify reports that the suspended election was proceeding and to serve notice of both the court injunction and the party’s directive on electoral officials.
The statement alleged that Mr. Afrifa Mensah and some of his supporters were physically assaulted by police officers at the venue before being arrested and taken into custody. It further claimed that those attempting to enforce the court injunction and party directive were the individuals arrested.
The Ashanti North Regional Police Command has not publicly commented on the allegations contained in the statement, and the claims could not be independently verified at the time of publication.
The arrest comes against the backdrop of an ongoing legal dispute over the Afigya Sekyere East constituency electoral process, which remains before the courts.
Source:www.kumasimail.com
