[ 2016-10-24 ]

Criminal endorsements: 6 disqualified aspirants report to police
Six disqualified presidential aspirants for the
upcoming 2016 general elections have turned
themselves into the police to answer questions
concerning the anomalies detected on their
nomination forms.

The six reported themselves to the Criminal
Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana
Police Service over the weekend, in the company of
their lawyers.

Updating the Daily Graphic on the turn of events
over the weekend, the Director General of the CID,
Prosper Kwame Agblor said Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom of
the Progressive People’s Party’s (PPP), Mr.
Henry Lartey of the Great Consolidated Popular
Party (GCPP), Mr. Hassan Ayariga of the All
People’s Congress (APC), Mr. Kwabena Adjei of
the Reform Patriotic Democrats (RDP), Mr. Kofi
Akpaloo of the Independent People’s Party (IPP)
and Nana Agyenim Boateng of the United Front Party
(UFP) had reported themselves to the police for
questioning.

According to Mr. Agblor, Mrs Nana Konadu Ageymang
Rawlings of the National Democratic Party and Dr
Edward Mahama of the People’s National
Convention (PNC) were yet to report themselves to
the police.

The chase
Last week, the CID turned the heat on the eight
disqualified presidential aspirants whose
subscribers committed various offences while
endorsing the aspirants’ nomination forms.

Mr Agblor said the six who reported themselves to
the police had since been granted
self-recognizance bail while investigations were
ongoing.

He said they were likely to be charged with
abetment of crime after investigations.

“The presidential aspirants were the ones who
presented the nomination forms in contention to
the Electoral Commission. The will be charged with
abetment of crime if investigations conclude that
they are culpable,” he said.

Background
Following disqualification of 13 presidential
nominees whose forms were endorsed by such
persons, the EC saidd these acts were criminal in
nature, hence their decision to ask the Attorney
General to prosecute such persons.

Evidence of some of the offenses were seen in the
forms of the Progressive People’s Party’s
(PPP) aspirant, Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom, the All
People’s Congress’ Hassan Ayariga, and the
Independent People’s Party’s (IFP) Kofi
Akpaloo, among others.

In the case of Dr. Nduom, the EC revealed that one
of the subscribers who endorsed his nomination
form was found to be legitimately on the register
of the Volta Region, yet he went ahead to sign the
forms in the Central Region as well with different
signatures. The name of the subscriber was given
as Richard Aseda.

The IPP’s Kofi Akpaloo, Hassan Ayariga of the
APC, Dr. Nana Agyenim Boateng of the United Front
Party, Dr. Henry Herbert Lartey of the Great
Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP) and Thomas Nuako
Ward-Brew of the Democratic People’s Party,
similarly had multiple subscribers having
different signatures on the nomination forms,
again raising questions as to the legitimacy of
the signatures.

In the case of the Reformed Democrat’s Party
(RDP) Kwabena Adjei, two subscribers for his forms
were not registered voters as they are on the
exclusion list for multiple registrations,
according to the EC.

The two persons are listed as Stephen Owusu and
Fusheini Mariama/ Abdulai Mariama; both possessing
two voter ID cards each.

Source - Daily Graphic & Citifmonline

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