Rev. Ebenezer Kofi, the overseer of St. Peter’s Methodist Church in Odorkor, has announced that the church is considering a formal request to the Electoral Commission (EC) to relocate the collation centre from its premises due to violent incidents that erupted during the Ablekuma North parliamentary rerun on Friday, July 11.
Speaking to Citi News on Saturday, July 12, Rev. Kofi said the church’s leadership is deeply concerned about the safety of its members and the destruction of church property caused by the political chaos.
“A decision has to be taken by the leadership of the church where we will take the collation centre from here, and by extension, we will take the polling station from here to prevent further incidents,” he said.
Rev. Kofi detailed the extent of the damage, revealing that not only were church assets destroyed, but even residential properties of clergy members were not spared.
“Most of our assets were vandalised and destroyed because of the collation… even yesterday I was told that the residence of one of the ministers was also damaged,” he lamented.
He noted that the church has reached a consensus to engage both the EC and security agencies in moving the collation centre and a nearby police post to a safer location to avoid further disruption in the future.
The recent rerun was marred by pockets of violence, including assaults and clashes between party supporters, prompting widespread condemnation and renewed calls for electoral reforms and improved security at polling stations and collation centres.
