Enga Provincial Police Commander, Superintendent George Kakas has confirmed that the police are looking into the incident at Laiagam, where candidates contesting the open seat are seen brawling over ballot boxes on a video gone viral on social Media.
Boxes were taken by the candidates themselves and PPC Kakas stated that he will be personally leading a team into the district to assess the situation.
He also stated that he received reports of ballot boxes being hijacked and that 6 people were direct casualties of the fighting.
“There were reports that came to me indicating that there were 6 people shot during the hijacking of the boxes.
As soon as we finish the insertion of the boxes into the other centers, we will be heading to Laiagam to conduct polling if polling has not commenced,” he said.
At the moment the security concern of the PPC is that of the safety of the election officials and the security personnel after the Enga Police HQ in Wabag received reports that supporters of candidates attacked security personnel in the province.
He added that a police vehicle conducting security patrols in Kandep was ambushed by supporters of a candidate. “A police unit was conducting operations in Kandep and they were attacked by a group of men that used trees to block the road and assault the officers, resulting in the vehicle being damaged in the process,” he added.
He is currently dispatching a search and rescue team to look for the officers and bring them back safely to Wabag.