The Minister for the Interior, Mubarak Mohammed Muntaka, has described the violence during the parliamentary rerun in the Ablekuma North constituency as a “scar on our collective conscience”.

He expressed worry over the recurrence of attacks on journalists, political actors, and security personnel, adding that such actions undermine Ghana's democratic system.

“We condemn this in no uncertain terms. For me, it is a scar on all of us, our conscience, that as a people having practiced democracy for over three decades, we cannot simply just go and have elections and it will be violence-free.

“That is something that all of us, in my view, especially those of us in politics, should be very concerned and worried about," he added.

The Minister made these remarks at the government accountability series in Accra on Monday, July 14.

On Friday, July, the Electoral Commission (EC) held an election in 19 polling stations of the Ablekuma North to provide its constituents with a representative after the 2024 parliamentary elections.

However, the process was marred by dramatic events; leading to the temporary suspension of voting at two polling stations, the Odorkor Methodist 1 polling station and St. Peters polling station.

At the Odorkor Methodist 1 polling station in the Ablekuma North constituency, some individuals engaged in a fisticuff with the police personnel.

Also, a JoyNews journalist was slapped by an unknown individual.

Former Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development and Member of Parliament for Ewutu Senya East Constituency, Hawa Koomson, was also assaulted by a group of men during the election.

In a video gone viral, a man lunged at Hawa Koomson, pushing her to the ground. Another person was seen kicking her.

The Police officers present intervened and prevented further attack against Hawa Koomson.

Meanwhile, the Ghana Police Service has interdicted one of its officers who was caught on camera slapping a journalist with GH One Television, Banahene Agyekum, during the rerun election at Ablekuma North.

In line with internal disciplinary procedures, he has been referred to the Police Professional Standards Bureau (PPSB) for investigation.

The Police have assured the public that a thorough investigation will be conducted into the matter and further updates will be communicated.

It is unknown what exactly transpired between the reporter and a group of police officers that led to him being slapped.

The Police officer's action has been condemned by all, including the mayor of Accra, Michael Kpakpo Allotey, who witnessed the unfortunate incident.

After the 2024 polls, Ablekuma North remained the only constituency in Ghana without a sitting MP, due to unresolved disagreements over the outcome of the parliamentary vote.

On December 10, 2024, three days after the national polls, the Electoral Commission (EC) declared Ewurabena Aubynn of the NDC the winner of the Ablekuma North parliamentary seat, defeating the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Nana Akua Owusu Afriyieh.

However, the EC later revoked the announcement, revealing that results from 62 of the 281 polling stations had not been included in the initial collation.

Efforts to restart the collation in January 2025 were disrupted by multiple challenges.

These included interruptions due to the submission of unverified pink sheets and a violent intrusion at the collation centre that heightened security concerns.

The EC, after extensive deliberations, in July noted that it will hold the rerun election because the 19 scanned polling station results used for the collation, though approved by agents of both political parties, were not verified by the presiding officers responsible for those polling stations.

The EC arrived at this decision after it met with the representatives of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and New Patriotic Party (NPP) on Tuesday, July 1.