During her vetting on Tuesday, March 5, Lydia Seyram Alhassan, the Member of Parliament for Ayawaso West Wuogon and Minister-designate for the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, spoke about the 2019 by-elections for the first time.
In response to inquiries, Lydia Alhassan stated that the incident was “unfortunate” and that she had no intention of using violence to win the election.
“The incident that happened on 31st January 2019, is unfortunate. As a candidate [then], whose focus was to win the election, and support the voiceless and the under-privileged, and support my constituency, my intention of doing that was not to win through violence.”
She added that she was not at the scene when it happened and recalled the difficult treatment she received on her first day in parliament at the hands of the minority.
In addition to discussing how the incident affected her as a mother and a woman, Alhassan emphasized how crucial it is to end election-related violence in order to promote democracy in Ghana.
“As you are aware, I was nowhere near where the incident occurred. You all remember how I was received the first day I stepped foot into parliament. A woman who was in pain, grieving. I’m glad there is an opportunity to bring a closure to this matter and I would like to clear it off my chest.
“As you are all aware, I was nowhere near when the incident occurred but as a woman and as a mother, I was so touched by it, and I pray what happened on that day should never happen to any person trying to represent his/her people. It should never happen again in the history of our quest to lead this country in our democracy. Issue of violence should never happen in our elections ever again,”
She gave advice.
The by-election in Ayawaso West Wuogon
Following a shooting incident at the polls, the NDC withdrew from the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election for political office.
On camera, some masked men were seen beating up bystanders who did not object to being taken into custody. The men were seen with a few police officers and were armed to the teeth.
A committee was later formed by the government to look into the incident.
“To make a full, faithful, and impartial inquiry into the circumstances of, and establish the facts leading to the events and associated violence that occurred during the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election,” was one of the commission’s mandates, along with other things.
Sam George, the Ningo Prampram MP, DSP Samuel Azugu, the commander of the National Security SWAT team, and Delali Kwasi Brempong, the NDC’s parliamentary candidate at the time, were among the key witnesses whose testimony the Commission heard.
Over the course of three weeks, the Commission interviewed more than twenty witnesses and people of interest.
Following its investigation, the commission reported its findings to the President.
Among other things, the Emile Short Commission suggested that victims of violence get compensation for the losses they endured.
In its White Paper, the government rejected several of the recommendations
