B/A: Tear gas fired as confusion rocks DCE confirmation over a single vote (PHOTO)

• Posted on May 17, 2017May 17, 2017
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

Confusion has marred a voting exercise to approve President Akufo-Addo’s nominee for the Chief Executive of Sunyani West District in the Brong Ahafo Region, causing the process to be postponed indefinitely.

The nominee, Martin Obeng, a physically challenged, fell short of the two-thirds votes by a single vote, something that generated confusion during the counting of the ballot Tuesday. Of the 54 assembly members who cast their vote, 35 of them voted ‘Yes’ for his confirmation but 19 others voted ‘No’ to reject his nomination.

Obeng needed one more vote to have secured the nod of the assembly to become its Chief Executive; something that caused his supporters to suspect foul play and disrupted proceedings. The security present at the event had fire tear-gas with the view to restoring calm but hell broke loose in the process. Assembly members and other people including the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Kwaku Asomah Cheremeh and the Regional Police Commander, DCOP Takyi Poku, had to run for their lives in the heat of the melee.

Some physically challenge people who were present in their numbers to give moral support to the nominee, did not take kindly to what the incident, and registered their displeasure at the turn of events.

By Larry Pea Kwesi Moses