A member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) communication team, Nuong Faalong has described the violence that marred the Ablekuma North rerun as deeply regrettable, calling for a more holistic national approach to tackling electoral violence.
Speaking on JoyNews Newsfile, Ms Faalong expressed sympathy for journalists and other individuals caught in the unrest, noting that political violence affects the entire democratic process and should concern all Ghanaians, regardless of political affiliation.
“I sympathise deeply with the journalists and anyone else who was caught in the crossfire,” she said.
“It is important to understand that, regardless of the history of violence in our elections, it undermines it for all of us not just one party.”
She condemned the violence as unacceptable in any democratic setting and urged all stakeholders to avoid narrow interpretations of what transpired in Ablekuma North.
“Violence at any election event is regrettable,” Ms Faalong stated. “To solve the problem, we have to look at it holistically. The issues that happened yesterday cannot be looked at in a vacuum. It is not an isolated incident we have had countless occurrences of violence during elections.”
Ms Faalong stressed the need for national dialogue and systemic reform to ensure that future elections are free, fair, and devoid of violence.
Tensions escalated in the Ablekuma North constituency on Friday, July 11, when violence broke out during a critical parliamentary rerun, resulting in injuries to prominent New Patriotic Party (NPP) members, Mavis Hawa Koomson and Nana Akua Afriyie.
The incident took place at the St. Peter’s polling station, where chaos erupted in the early hours of voting.
According to reports, heavily built men launched a coordinated attack on the centre, assaulting party agents, voters, and journalists present at the scene.