The special voting process in the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency, located in the Greater Accra Region, was disrupted on Monday, December 2, when incumbent New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP, Lydia Alhassan, began distributing food packs to voters standing in the queue.
The incident sparked controversy, with some Electoral Commission officials and security personnel also receiving food. Opposition figures, particularly the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) Parliamentary Candidate for the constituency, actor John Dumelo, strongly condemned the action, claiming it could be seen as an attempt to influence voters.
Dumelo, speaking to Joy News’ Kwaku Asante, questioned the appropriateness of the gesture. “Why are you sharing food with people in the queue? This is not acceptable,” he said. “The Electoral Commission’s rules must be respected. We don’t even know what’s in those food packs. This is totally wrong.”
He warned that the opposition could respond in kind, but emphasized the need to respect election regulations.
Before the incident, both parliamentary candidates had expressed confidence in their prospects for the election.
Reports from the Ayawaso Central Constituency suggest similar food distributions by both the NPP and NDC, specifically to Electoral Commission officials overseeing the special voting process.
The special voting exercise, which is part of the preparations for the upcoming elections, involves hundreds of security personnel, emergency services staff, and Electoral Commission officials across 14 out of Ghana’s 16 regions.
Source:TheDotNews