The Minister of State in Charge of Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, has dismissed calls by the Minority Caucus for an investigation into the violence that marred the Ablekuma North parliamentary election rerun.

He argued that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) had, over the past eight years, normalised electoral violence by failing to hold perpetrators accountable under the Akufo-Addo administration.

According to him, such a culture of impunity has contributed to the chaos and violence witnessed during the recent rerun.

Responding to a statement on the floor of Parliament by the Minority Leader, Kwakye Ofosu urged the caucus to demonstrate sincerity and consistency in their efforts to promote a more peaceful and credible political environment.

“A party that endorsed violence during elections cannot come today and call for investigations into acts of violence. It is those of us who condemned it in the past and are condemning it today who can make such a call.

“Their officials are on record as having vowed that there will be violence in Akwatia. Even as they call for action to be taken, they are threatening violence,” he stated.

Joining the debate, Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga downplayed the incident, describing the violence at Ablekuma North as child’s play compared to previous instances of electoral violence witnessed in his own jurisdiction.

“I have experienced them in real violent situations in elections. The week before this last election, there were persistent gunshots in my constituency, and I couldn’t even come out of my house. Persistent, not what you people are doing. Not this child’s play at Ablekuma. This is children playing,” he said.

However, the Member of Parliament for Manhyia South, Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, strongly condemned Ayariga’s remark. He noted that describing the chaos at Ablekuma North as child’s play was inappropriate and does not reflect the spirit of the government’s reset agenda.

“Today, we are being told that what happened in Ablekuma North is child’s play, and it is coming from the Majority Leader. A journalist was slapped, and we are saying it’s child’s play? A woman was assaulted, and we are saying it is child’s play? We are not surprised. Are we saying to the many children who are watching us that when we promised the people of this country reset, we were going to pursue retributive politics? This is not what you promised,” he stated.