The Member of Parliament for Tema West, Carlos Ahenkorah, claims that several of his colleagues, who were initially confused by his ballot-snatching stunt during the vote counting for the speakership elections on January 7, 2021, now praise him.
During a chaotic assembly of MPs to pick a Speaker, the politician fled with a stack of ballots in a plot to prevent the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) Alban Bagbin from being elected.
Unfortunately for him, his colleagues on the other side realized what he was up to and chased him. The general public and civic society at large criticized his behavior as violent, immature, and anti-democratic. He stated once again that he doesn’t regret snatching ballot papers.
Mr. Ahenkorah elaborated on his thinking during an appearance on the Oyerepa Breakfast Show in Kumasi. He recalled how he had predicted that the election victory of Alban Bagbin would pose serious challenges for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in terms of policymaking.
According to Ahenkorah, his predictions have come true, as the NPP is indeed facing strong opposition from some members of parliament. He disclosed that many of his colleagues in the party who at first condemned his actions have now changed their minds.
“A lot of my colleagues did not understand why I snatched the ballots, but today they turned to hail me. A lot of them say that if they knew that things were going to be so tough in parliament as we experience today, what happened to you would have happened to you. A whole party of NDC parliamentarians mostly oppose our policies in parliament with the support of the Speaker of Parliament. How is that possible?” he said.
The lawmaker admitted that his unwavering passion, dedication, and loyalty to the NPP prompted him to snatch the ballot papers.
“So what happened there was my dedication and commitment to NPP and my loyalty. Even though I don’t think I’m going to do it again, I don’t regret doing it,” he added.
