Residents of Juapong in the Volta Region have embarked on a demonstration to express their dissatisfaction with the Ministry of Local Government’s plans to re-demarcate some areas in the district, threatening to boycott the district level elections in the process if the plans are not rescinded. According to residents there, the re-demarcation exercise will not serve any meaningful purpose to them. They therefore appealed to the government to take their plea in the sincerest regard or risk a boycott of Tuesday’s district elections being held nationwide. Speaking to Joy News, Emmanuel Ameka, chairman of the Juapong Youth Association said other such areas have been set for re-demarcation, being Juapong, Keteku, Torgome and Volo. He bemoaned this exercise being embarked on by the Electoral Commission, indicating that residents are fuming about the EC’s decision. “At the time when we presented our petition for a review of this new demarcated area, at the end of the result, it does not favour us...That is the area we have captured in our petition that should be considered for a new electoral area has not been considered,” he said. “The residents of the area [are] strongly annoyed about the issue and for that matter, we are embarking on a peaceful demonstration for the government top come in and reverse that issue.” In the Northern Regional district of Lamakara, electorates are threatening to contest the results of the EC in court if similar concerns are not addressed. Speaking to Joy News, spokesperson for the group, Abdul Razak Zachariah said the problem emanated after the area was divided into two. He said the EC had informed them that a particular polling station in Lama Kara was going to be transferred to Lamashegu, a move he says will disenfranchise electorates of Lama Kara. He stated that in the event that residents of Lama Kara are allowed to use the newly transferred polling booth to Lamashegu, it would only cause them to vote for an assembly man of Lamashegu which would not benefit them in any way. Abdul Razak said efforts to draw the EC’s attention to the matter were initially agreed upon to provide two separate ballot boxes for the two areas but just four days ago, the EC informed them that the plan had been scrapped. The Electoral Commission is saying that there is a particular polling station there [and they are saying that] they will give that particular polling station to the people of Lamashegu; and I believe when this happens, majority of the people of Lama Kara will become disenfranchised,” he said. “…we met with the Electoral Commissioner who first agreed that he will provide an additional ballot box there so that the people of Lama Kara will be voting in one ballot box while the people of Laman Shiegu will be voting in the other. “Just about four days ago, we met with him and he said that his initial agreement would not hold because he is giving that particular polling station to the people of Laman Shiegu which we are contesting,” he protested. Source: Joy News/Ghana