Constituents of Kumawu have revealed issues of vote buying by the New Patriotic Party to induce them to vote in their favour in the by-election.
The Electoral Commission has held a by-election in the Kumawu Constituency to elect an MP to fill the vacant seat of the constituency in Parliament following the death of the incumbent Member of Parliament Philip Basoah.
Prior to the election day, tensions were high as the two main political parties were assiduously canvassing for vote even in odd manner. The Independent Candidate Kwaku Duah a.ka Tom Tee in the race also hightened the tension as he inched closer in the 2020 elections.
Constituents this morning have disclosed vote buying advances made by the New Patriotic Party to maintain the seat since 1996.
In an interview Joynews had with one witness, he mentioned being bribed, however he lamented the deficiency of development in Kumawu.
“I have taken 50 cedis. The NPP gave it to me. Are they not the ones with the money. They are sharing it for the men and women in the town. We have men in this town who are unemployed. Fine looking gentlemen and ladies who are destitute. Today in Ghana, eating is difficult. You eat free by luck.”
Some of them however claimed they rejected the money and pledged to vote fairly for the development they long for.
“We are voting for Tom T. He should come and change Kumawuman. If you submit your card, then they give you 20 cedis and 50 cedis.
We want fairness. We won’t accept the incentive. It is the development that we are concerned about. They should rather use the money to fix our constituency. They should use it to fix our roads and public loose. 10 cedis can’t buy even Koko. You can’t even buy rice with 10 cedis.”
“I didn’t take the money but I will vote. And I will cast my ballot for the independent candidate. Once they have money shared, afterwards they won’t do anything better because they have shared more then 500,000 cedis.” Another voter complained
It was a mixture of “for and against” the bribe however they all shared similar grievances. One voter said the “money shared won’t change their decison because they know where to cast their ballot even if they take the money”.
The parliamentary candidates include: Akwasi Amankwaa popularly known as ‘Tom Cee’, of NDC, NPP’s Ernest Yaw Anim, and two other independent candidates both with the same name, Kwaku Duah.now