The accusation and counter-accusation of electoral violence going on between the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and its bitterest rivals, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has assumed a different dimension. The opposition party has now resorted to the powerful river shrine at Antoa Nyamaa to clear its name and establish its innocence about series of allegations being leveled against it by members of the NPP. The NDC has, therefore, invoked the spirit of the Antoa River, known in the local dialect as "Antoa Nsuo Nyammaa" to strike dead whoever is guilty of the recent media report of the opposition party's alleged bloody attack on supporters of the NPP at Anlo-Sobolo, in the Subin Constituency, last Friday night. An Accra-based National Daily, The Daily Guide on Monday published on its front page a story in which some members of the opposition NDC were reported to have inflicted cutlass wounds on members of the ruling party, when the latter were having their meeting last Friday night, leaving several of them injured. But the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the party, Mr. Daniel Ohene-Agyekum, has sworn to prove the innocence of his party by invoking the powerful Antoa River to punish whoever might have orchestrated the dastardly attack. Addressing a press conference on Monday in Kumasi, Mr.Agyekum, who seemed highly disturbed about what he described as unwarranted lies and falsehood being peddled by the NPP against the NDC, burst saying "Enough is enough, we can no longer stomach the dirty propaganda machinery of the NPP. I am a devout Christian but I do also believe in our traditional customs and culture. I would therefore seek the intervention of the powerful River Antoa to judge this case between us and the NPP.” The Ashanti Regional chairman of the party, who demonstrated his seriousness by presenting two bottles of schnapps and three eggs, however, alleged that the plan was part of orchestrated attempts by the unpopular ruling government to give the NDC a bad name and hang it. According to the Chairman, credible information available to them indicated that the NPP had similar premeditated plans up their sleeves to apportion blame on the NDC anytime acts of violence are caused by people of their own. He claimed that his party was in possession of a document code¬named -"Ways and Means", believed to have been obtained from an intelligence source, detailing out a 13 point minute from a meeting held by the NPP, where plans were hatched to use the mass media to denigrate the NDC and incite it against the public. Reacting to the said publication, Mr. Agyekum alleged that the clash which occurred last Friday night was as a result of internal differences between the NPP over the struggle for power and recognition by two NPP groups formed within the constituency to champion the ambition of the NPP parliamentary aspirant for the area, Mr. Isaac Osei. This allegation was corroborated by the NDC Polling Station Chairman for the Anlo- Fante Newtown Electoral Area, Mr. Joseph Atansah. The NDC Chairman alleged that similar propaganda machinery was employed by the NPP in the run up to the decisive elections in 2000, when the NPP, then in opposition accused the NDC of being responsible for the murder of over 34 women in Accra. He said the then Campaign Spokesperson of the NPP, Mr. Jake Obetsebi Lamptey publicly declared that when the NPP assumed power that it was going to make sure that the heinous crime was nibbed in the bud and the perpetrators of the murder of the women will be brought to justice. He noted that coincidentally, the criminal act seized after NPP assumed power, but it has since failed to arrest the criminals, let alone bring them before court to be prosecuted, saying this clearly exposes the hypocrisy of the NPP. He therefore called on women in this country to hold the ruling party to question, and query them, in order to live up to their word and assurances. Mr. Agyekum further questioned the moral justification of the NPP to accuse the NDC for electoral violence when a number of bloody incidents had been witnessed in their just ended primaries. He cited the bloody clashes at Suhum, Bekwai and Konongo to substantiate his allegations. The Regional Chairman has, therefore, charged the security forces to conduct serious and objective investigation in order to bring the perpetrators to justice. Source: Chronicle