The incumbent Member of Parliament(MP) for Bantama Constituency in the Ashanti Region, Francis Asenso-Boakye and his main contender, Ralph Agyapong, nearly exchanged blows at one of the polling stations.
The misunderstanding stemmed from a situation Ralph Agyapong described as “unprofessional” on the part of Asenso-Boakye.
According to Ralph, the Minister of Works and Housing, seeking re-election as the parliamentary candidate for the Bantama constituency, visited one of the polling centres while singing, which he deemed unprofessional on his part.
Meanwhile, police officers have intervened and restored calm at the centre.
For the past few weeks, the two contenders have been engaging in verbal attacks.
It will be recalled that Asenso-Boakye, in one of his campaign messages, tagged his contender, Ralph, as “Aboboyaa[Tricycle]”, and he tagged himself as a “V.I.P bus”.
Ralph Kwame Opoku Agyapong, in a media interview, also criticised Asenso-Boakye for falsely claiming projects started by the late former MP of the Bantama Constituency, Daniel Okyem Aboagye.
On January 23, Nana Kwabena Bonsu Kanin III, the Chief of Ampabamehene, a suburb of Bantama in the Ashanti Region, threw his weight behind Francis Asenso-Boakye.
The statement was made by the chief, who is also Otumfuo’s Suaaduhene, during a ceremony to commission a newly constructed police station by the Bantama MP at Ohwim-Aman on January 23.
The project is the third police station to be commissioned in the constituency under the leadership of Mr Asenso-Boakye.
However, Opoku Agyapong alleged that “Every police station was started by the late Daniel Okyem Aboagye and not Asenso as he has been claiming. He has not done much to uplift the constituency.”
Ralph Agyapong also stated that he comes to the competition with integrity.
