The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has warned that any military personnel deployed during the upcoming Akwatia parliamentary by-election will be treated as “thugs” and resisted accordingly.
Speaking at a press briefing in Accra on Wednesday, August 27, 2025, the party’s Director of Communications, Richard Ahiagbah, accused the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) of attempting to use soldiers to intimidate voters in the constituency.
He alleged that troops, reportedly under the command of Richard Jakpa, Director of Operations at the National Security Secretariat, had been sighted in the area.
According to Ahiagbah, the presence of soldiers amounted to an effort to frighten residents ahead of the polls.
“The infamous Richard Jakpa, who has been appointed as Director of Operations at National Security, has been seen perambulating the Akwatia constituency with soldiers and reportedly threatening some indigenes and residents to leave the town before the by-election in their own interest,” Ahiagbah charged.
The Akwatia by-election, scheduled for Tuesday, September 2, 2025, follows the death of the sitting MP, Ernest Yaw Kumi, on July 7, 2025. Kumi, an NPP lawmaker, won the seat in the December 2024 general elections.
Campaign activity in the constituency has intensified, with both the NPP and NDC eager to capture the vacant seat.
The Electoral Commission has assured voters of a transparent process, while security agencies have pledged adequate arrangements to safeguard peace before, during, and after the polls.
Source: Myxyzonline.com
