The Tarkwa police in the Western Region are investigating a case in which 48 voter identity (ID) cards, eight voter identification slips and five passport-size photographs were found last Friday in the possession of Patrick Atule, a temporary Replacement Officer at the Tarkwa office of the Electoral Commission (EC). The voter ID cards, belonging to some people in Esaase and Adomase villages in the Prestea-Huni Valley constituency of the Western Region were allegedly given to Atule for distribution to the owners. Atule, a 48-year-old farmer and photographer, has been granted bail and is to report at the Tarkwa police station every other day to assist in investigations. Briefing Daily Guide in his office, ACP Daniel Sampana, the Tarkwa Divisional Police Commander said on Friday afternoon, Messrs. Ben Assabil and Joseph Anobaah, Tarkwa-Nsuaem constituency chairman and organiser respectively of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) reported to the police that they had seen Richard Atule holding the said items, and coming from the Tarkwa Electoral Office. When they confronted him, Atule indicated that he collected the items from Mr. Yaw Oppong, the Tarkwa District Electoral Officer to be distributed to the owners in villages around Prestea and Heman. A few minutes later, Mr. Oppong came to the police station with Atule and the items confirming they were genuine voter ID cards and explained that the latter and the other team members who did the registration around Heman, left the scannable forms at the electoral office that day. Oppong said the team called him but considering the distance and time and in order not to disenfranchise the people in the area, he ordered that the team should take the photographs of the eligible voters and attach the identification slips so the voter ID cards could be produced. Source: Daily Guide