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The Minister of State in charge of Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, has dismissed calls by the Minority in Parliament for an investigation into the recent violence that marred the Ablekuma North parliamentary election rerun.
Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday, July 16, 2025, Kwakye Ofosu argued that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has, over the last eight years, entrenched a culture of electoral violence by consistently failing to hold perpetrators accountable during the Akufo-Addo administration. He said this pattern of impunity contributed significantly to the chaos recorded during the rerun.
“A party that endorsed violence during elections cannot come today and call for investigations into acts of violence,” he stated in response to a statement from the Minority Leader. “It is those of us who condemned it in the past and are condemning it today who can make such a call.”
Kwakye Ofosu further accused NPP officials of inciting violence in previous elections, pointing specifically to threats made during the Akwatia parliamentary polls. He also challenged the sincerity of the Minority’s current calls for accountability, suggesting they lack the consistency needed to promote a peaceful and credible political environment.
In the ensuing debate, Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga attempted to downplay the severity of the Ablekuma North incident, comparing it to more intense episodes of electoral violence he claimed to have experienced in his own constituency.
“The week before this last election, there were persistent gunshots in my constituency, and I couldn’t even come out of my house. This is not what you people are doing. Not this child’s play at Ablekuma,” Ayariga said.
However, his comments were met with strong criticism from Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, the Member of Parliament for Manhyia South. Baffour Awuah described Ayariga’s remarks as insensitive, citing reports that a journalist was assaulted and a woman attacked during the Ablekuma North disturbances.
“We are being told that what happened in Ablekuma North is child’s play, and it is coming from the Majority Leader. A journalist was slapped, and we are saying it’s child’s play? A woman was assaulted, and we are saying it is child’s play? This is not what you promised,” he said, referring to the government’s pledge to reset and reform the political landscape.
The incident and subsequent parliamentary debate have once again drawn national attention to the issue of electoral violence in Ghana and the political divide over how best to address it.
