Rehanatu Feumbonia Salifu, a member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) communication team, has voiced strong concerns over what she describes as the incompetence of the Jean Mensah-led Electoral Commission (EC). She argues that this incompetence could have escalated the violence seen during the Ablekuma North rerun into a national security threat if weren’t properly managed.

Speaking to Fast TV, Rehanatu asserted that the EC’s shortcomings led to the Ablekuma North rerun, which was marred by “pockets of violence and mayhem.” She stressed that such incidents could have been prevented had the EC been more proactive and decisive.

“If the EC was fit for purpose, we wouldn’t have been rerunning Ablekuma North in the first place because, for the first time in our electoral history, results were declared by the EC, and in the next minute, the same results were annulled by the same EC. So many inconsistencies, so the genesis of all this Ablekuma North violence is rooted in the incompetence of the EC,” she stated.

While condemning the assaults on journalism and the violence that characterized the rerun, Rehanatu was quick to add that the Ablekuma North rerun should serve as a cautionary case. She urged the EC to use this experience to collaborate more effectively with security agencies to beef up security in the upcoming Akwatia by-election.