Six people were killed during Ghana’s 2024 general election as a result of gunshots and stubbing by party supporters.

The Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) 2024 Election Incidents report gave a total of 76 separate incidents it recorded in relation to the elections.

The Collation for Domestic Elections Observers (CODEO) and the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) supported CDD-Ghana in compiling the report.

Presenting the findings in Accra, Mr Paul Nana Kwabena Aborampah Mensah, Programme Manager in-charge of Security Sector Governance, CDD Ghana, said of the 76 incidents, 24 were cases of destruction, seizure, vandalism and invasion of public facilities, while 46 were injuries with six deaths.

Touching on the deaths, Mr Mensah said at the Nyankpaa lorry station in the Tolon Constituency of the Northern Region, one Haruna Shaibu, a 31-year-old steel bender, was shot and killed on the spot.

He said Mukila Ziblim, 35, died from a gunshot wound he sustained from a stray bullet in the Damongo Constituency of the Savanna Region during the collation.

On December 7, a shooting incident in the Awutu Senya East Constituency of the Central Region led to the death of one person and other critically injured.

Mr Mensah said in the Ahafo Ano South West Constituency of the Ashanti Region, during the collating process at the Electoral Commission Office at Mankraso, unidentified supporters of the two leading political parties believed their opponents intended to rig the election, which led to a confrontation.

As a result, six people got injured and one of them (Kwasi Nimo, a 33-year old man) later died at the Mankraso Government Hospital.

In the Offinso North Constituency of the Ashanti Region, some youth from Akomandan, suspected to be National Democratic Congress (NDC) supporters, broke into a warehouse belonging to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Parliamentary Candidate and looted bags of fertilizers, he said.

Mr Mensah said the incident occurred shortly after the election results were declared at the collation centre.

He said as the youths looted the fertilizers, some supporters of the NPP attempted to stop them and in the process, one person was stabbed to death and another person was injured by a bullet and died later at the hospital.

Regarding the destruction of public property, Mr Mensah mentioned the burning of the EC’s offices at Damongo in the Savanna Region and Ayensuano in the Eastern Region.

He said the CDD-Ghana Security Sector Governance team would follow up in those regions, constituencies and communities where the incidents happened to validate the data/details of the cases, including names of the affected people and their locations.

The validation process would seek to collect and confirm the brief of the story behind each of the cases.

Mr Mensah said the project would establish a platform for survivors and the families of the deceased to bridge the gap between investigators and the affected families devoid of suspicion and to canvas citizens support to aid the investigations.

The platforms would also seek to provide updates on the cases to the victims and their families and engage in discussions with the aim of and exploring the way forward.

He said 132 suspects had been arrested so far, of which 45 were remanded in custody, 71 on police enquiry bail and 16 on court bail.

Professor Henry Kwasi Prempeh, the Executive Director, CDD-Ghana, said the Centre’s worse fears going into this year’s elections, thankfully, did not materialise, concerning widespread apprehension that “the elections might be exceptionally disorderly.”

“Yet the fact that we did not experience the levels of disorder and chaos that we might have expected does not mean that all is well or that all went well …” he said.

“We continue to experience, unfortunately, incidents of disorder, some of them violent, some of them fatal, in our elections.”

He bemoaned the incidents of electoral violence Ghana still grappled with even after nine successive elections, which had resulted in injuries, destruction of public property, and deaths.