According to the 60-year-old lawmaker and a lawyer by Profession, what Ghanaians saw in the viral video in which Carlos Ahenkorah was seen running away with ballot papers and had to be chased up amidst beatings before the papers were retried after he had allegedly chewed some of them, was not exactly what occurred.
ADVERTISEMENT
"Carlos was only arranging the ballot papers" - KT Hammond says Ghanaians didn’t see well (video)
Member of Parliament for Adansi Asokwa Kobina Tahiru Hammond popularly known as KT Hammond has defended his colleague for Tema-West constituency Carlos Ahenkorah who made news headlines for snatching and running away with ballot papers in parliament on January 7, 2021.
Carlos Ahenkorah was only arranging the ballot papers - KT Hammond says Ghanaians didn’t see well
ADVERTISEMENT
KT Hammond has told Kofi Adomah of Angel FM in a recent interview that “bad boys” from the opposition National Democratic Congress were the troublemakers.
It would be recalled that parliament turned chaotic on the 7th January 2021 when parliamentarians-elect were in the process of electing a speaker of the house to swear them in before the house was properly constituted for the swearing-in of President Akuffo Addo for his second term.
ADVERTISEMENT
The lawmakers-elect disagreed on the mode of voting as the NDC caucus insisted on purely secret balloting while the NPP side wanted their members to show the candidate they voted for.
READ ALSO: “I will pay the dowry” – Woman who “used to ignore men a lot” needs a man to marry in May
Parliament became totally hostile as ballot boxes were booted, members pushed one another violently among other things that lasted for hours. Armed police and military officers stormed the house to restore calm but that rather exacerbated the situation.
Finally, when a semblance of calm returned and the voting took place but during the counting of the ballots, Carlos Ahenkorah snatched a chunk of the papers and attempted to escape but was eventually overpowered.
He subsequently apologized to Ghanaians, saying he was fighting for the interest of the NPP.
ADVERTISEMENT
At the end of it all, the longest-serving member of parliament Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin of the opposition NDC was declared by the clerk of parliament as having been elected while the NPP’s candidate Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye who was seeking reelection to the speakership could not succeed.
JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!
ADVERTISEMENT
Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:
Email: eyewitness@pulse.com.gh