Chaos in Ol Kalou CBD as Gunshots and Teargas Rock By-Election

Ol Kalou town was thrown into confusion on Wednesday after teargas was lobbed near a polling station during the parliamentary by-election.

Trouble began when residents barricaded the road leading to St Joseph’s Catholic Comprehensive School polling centre with stones and poles. They claimed they were blocking suspicious vehicles that were not from the IEBC from reaching the voting area, shouting that their votes would not be stolen.

The situation escalated after several Toyota Prados arrived carrying masked men in balaclavas. Witnesses said the men were armed with teargas launchers and soon fired teargas into the crowd, causing people to scream and run for safety.

The masked group was later seen entering the nearby A.C. Comprehensive polling station, which was already under tight security.

Even with the chaos, voting did not stop. IEBC officials stayed inside and continued serving voters under heavy security.

Authorities are yet to confirm the identity of the masked individuals or give a reason for the teargas incident.