On July 11, 2025, a parliamentary rerun was held in Ablekuma North (Greater Accra) to resolve a tied result from the December 2024 general election. The by-election took place at 19 polling stations, but outbreaks of violence overshadowed it.
The National Peace Council noted that the rerun, necessitated by unresolved disputes in the prior poll, was held “across 19 polling stations” under “significant tension and alarming incidents”.
Eyewitnesses reported that groups of unidentified assailants stormed some stations. In one video-recorded incident, men in a pickup truck forced entry to the Odorkor Methodist polling station and attacked several people. Former Fisheries Minister and ex-MP Mavis Hawa Koomson (NPP) was head-butted, thrown to the ground, and beaten, with the New Patriotic Party’s candidate Nana Akua Afriyie also sustaining injuries. Voting was halted at that station for a while when the attackers fled.
Media workers were also targeted. A viral video showed a uniformed police officer slapping Kwabena Agyekum Banahene of the EIB Network (GHOne/Starr FM) while he was filming the scene. The Ghana Police Service later confirmed the officer’s interdiction and referral for investigation. Another reporter, Vida Wiafe of Amansan TV, was sprayed with pepper spray during the chaos. According to the Peace Council, assaults on journalists were among “the most prominent incidents” of that day. Despite the disturbances, most polling stations eventually resumed voting under heavy police guard. In total, the rerun involved 6,839 votes at these 19 stations, and voters were urged to exercise restraint while the Electoral Commission completes collation.
Official and political responses
The violence at Ablekuma North drew swift condemnation from both government and opposition figures. The Peace Council “strongly condemns these violent acts” and urged all parties to remain calm and let the electoral process proceed peacefully. Defence Minister Dr Omane Boamah — who toured the affected Odorkor Methodist centre —appealed for calm: “This is a civil exercise; we are not at war. People must be able to exercise their franchise in peace,” he told reporters. He stated that the police would thoroughly investigate any further disturbances.
Other senior officials spoke out. NPP flagbearer Dr Mahamudu Bawumia described the attack on supporters at the polling station as “very disturbing”, warning that normalising political violence would be “a recipe for disaster if each political party raises its own army.” He called on President Mahama to “take action to bring the perpetrators to book” and stressed, “This is not the democracy we want to see.”
NPP stalwart Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum similarly denounced the chaos as “deeply regrettable” and insisted Ghana’s democracy must not be undermined by “acts of political intolerance, aggression, and violence.”
By contrast, some party figures traded accusations. In a social media post, NDC MP and Communications Minister, Samuel “Sam” Nartey George—who was not directly involved in the Ablekuma contest—accused Dr Bawumia of hypocrisy, asking why the former vice president had remained silent on the notorious Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election clashes of 2019. “Someone should tell Bawumia to shut up,” George wrote, noting that Bawumia had warned that if parties armed themselves, “this will be a recipe for disaster.”
In Parliament, the NPP’s Minority Caucus (led by Alexander Afenyo-Markin) blamed the NDC. Its statement claimed NDC officials incited the unrest, calling it “a direct attack on our democratic process” that deprived “citizens of their constitutional right to representation”. It named two NDC organisers as instigators and urged a probe into police inaction. (Some observers noted the tension between these exchanges – in effect, each side calling out the other – as emblematic of Ghana’s bitter partisan climate).
Civil society voices joined in. The Ghana Journalists Association said the attacks on Banahene and multimedia reporter Salomey Martey were “a brutal and unprovoked assault… on press freedom”. NGO monitors lamented Ghana’s recent slide in press safety rankings.
And legal analyst Kwesi Baffoe Intsiful, a lecturer and lawyer, told DUBAWA that the Ablekuma North scenes were “condemnable” and showed a decline in democracy. In his words:
“It’s condemnable. There’s nothing anybody should endorse or accept. I am very, very disappointed, and I don’t know where we are going with our democracy. Maybe people beyond the politicians should step in and call on the two main parties to abide by what they have agreed to do. Obviously, we can see from what happened that things are not going well because the accusation is rather against the people who have the backing of the ruling government. We should not entertain this in any shape or form. It should be completely condemned.”
Finally, the police and government promised enquiries. By July 12, the Inspector General of Police had established a task force to investigate the violence. President Mahama said anyone found responsible must face justice. The Electoral Commission also appealed for calm and security, even as it vowed to complete the ballot count.
How does this fit Ghana’s electoral history?
Election-related violence in Ghana is not unprecedented, though it has been relatively rare until recent years. During the First Republic and the early independence era, political rivalries often led to deadly unrest. For example, soon after independence in 1957, a state of emergency was declared in Kumasi amid rioting that displaced some 5,000 people. In the early 1960s, multiple bomb attacks rocked Accra: in September 1962, lone bombs exploded in the city, and a series of blasts killed several schoolchildren. A particularly deadly incident was a January 11, 1963, bombing at a Convention People’s Party rally that killed more than 20 attendees. These episodes, while not occurring on election day, reflected the high political tensions of Kwame Nkrumah’s era and presaged a hardening of the regime (eventually outlawing opposition parties by 1964).
After decades of alternating military and civilian rule, Ghana’s Fourth Republic began in 1992 with a peaceful presidential election. For years, Ghana was praised as a model of stable democracy in Africa. As one analysis notes, “in the decades since Ghana’s transition to democracy in 1992, the country has built a reputation for peaceful elections and orderly transitions.”
Indeed, the 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008 general elections proceeded with only isolated disturbances. (One exception was a pre-election clash in 1996 when a bomb exploded near an NPP rally, killing one person, but it did not derail the vote.)
Violent Shadows Over By‑Elections: Talensi, Chereponi, Akwatia, Odododiodio, Ayawaso West Wuogon
While Ghana’s national elections are often portrayed as mostly peaceful, a recurring scourge in its democracy lies in by-elections—limited contests triggered by vacancies—that have repeatedly erupted in violence. The recent Ablekuma North rerun reignited these same concerns, echoing troubling patterns from prior hotspots: Talensi, Chereponi, Akwatia, Odododiodio, and Ayawaso West Wuogon.
Talensi (July 2015)
The Talensi by‑election began with isolated clashes that escalated brutally. Reports of gunfire, tear gas, machetes, and improvised weapons emerged as supporters from both major parties confronted each other. One NPP agent was nearly lynched, and the police seized an AK‑47 rifle and pistol from a vehicle, signalling an alarming militarisation of party rivalries. Government observers warned that these disturbances could foreshadow violence in the 2016 general elections.
Chereponi and Akwatia
Multiple local party groups have accused rival camps of using intimidation during by-elections in Chereponi and Akwatia. Although less documented than the Talensi, the NPP Youth for Integrity demanded equal investigations into these incidents, alongside those in Talensi, Atiwa, and others, warning that unchecked violence endangers electoral credibility.
Odododiodio (December 2020 general elections)
Amid the national polls, Odododiodio became a flashpoint. Police confirmed five deaths and 19 injuries linked to electoral unrest, including the arrest of sitting MP Nii Lante Vanderpuye. The incident highlighted how even broader elections can replicate the violence typically associated with more limited polls.
Perhaps the most infamous recent example, this by‑election featured masked men opening fire at La‑Bawaleshie polling station. Gunshots wounded 18, including MP Sam George and others. The violence prompted calls for a commission of inquiry and formal investigations.
National Elections vs. By‑Elections
While national elections—such as 2020’s—have occasionally registered pockets of violence, they generally remain peaceful overall, thanks to massive security deployments and international monitoring. By contrast, by-elections are far more vulnerable, lacking the same institutional safeguards and public scrutiny as general elections.
However, in recent election cycles, violence has re-emerged as a serious problem. Long-simmering youth vigilante gangs and partisan clashes contributed to unrest in the December 2020 election: observers reported that fights and mob confrontations around the country left at least eight people dead. The government and parties had promised to curb violence afterwards, even passing a “Vigilantism Act” in 2019 and signing a cross-party peace accord. Those efforts were put to the test in 2024. The December 2024 vote again saw protests turn violent and clashes between rival youth gangs. At least six people died across Ghana during the 2024 elections. Most of those incidents happened away from polling stations (in protests or other election-day disturbances), but they alarmed many that Ghana’s democratic stability was under threat.
Analysts point out that few arrests have been made in the 2020 and 2024 killings, suggesting a culture of impunity.
The Ablekuma North episode fits this broader pattern: a by-election intended to finalise one parliamentary seat ended up echoing the violence seen in bigger polls. It has prompted calls for comprehensive reforms – from better police readiness to stronger political discipline – to prevent future bloody incidents.
Conclusion
The Ablekuma North rerun was marred by raw scenes of political thuggery that shocked Ghanaian society. Political leaders from both major parties and independent observers uniformly condemned the attacks. The incident adds to a worrying trend of election-related violence in Ghana’s recent history. Democracy watchers stress that unless all sides work to maintain peaceful polls, Ghana’s democratic gains could be undermined.
Table source: DUBAWA
