By Edzorna Francis Mensah
The New Patriotic Party (NPP), has denied claims made by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) that the governing party is doing everything possible to rig the upcoming general election.
During the just-ended special voting exercise, the NDC, among other things accused the governing NPP of buying votes and working with the EC to rig the election for the Dr. Bawumia and NPP Parliamentary Candidates.
But the NPP has dismissed all these allegations, including the video in the circulation of the NPP MP for Ayawaso West Wuagon and the Minister of Sanitation, Lydia Seyram Alhassan, allegedly sharing food, drink, and water with people in the queue.
In an exclusive interview with GBC’s Edzorna Francis Mensah, from his Aflao residence, the NPP Director of Communications, Richard Ahiagba, said his party has no plan to rig the upcoming election.
According to him, “the business of election rigging, I don’t think our electoral system is at a place that can compromised by anybody without being caught.”
She said, Asiadu Nketia, then general secretary of the NDC, says that if anybody thinks that our systems can be compromised, the person does not know what he is talking about.
“His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, when he was president, told us all with confidence that the EC’s processes are rigorous, and so I’m not sure why some, how just, now they believe that those processes and those …….. made with the government don’t hold anymore.”
Mr. Ahiagba said he’s not sure how okay it is to corrupt the system so much that they can rig the elections. “I don’t know how.”
When asked about videos of key MPs, for instance, sharing food and water in queues to buy votes, he said, “this whole business, campaign, what is it,. isn’t it about to influence people for votes?… “to get people to take a certain decision one way or the other.
That is simply what it is. But you see what they are alleging to have happened in the case of Ayawaso West. For me, I think it is reducing this whole matter to something else.”
He further reiterated that, “MP for Ayawaso West, if she’s sharing food on Election Day, she’s not campaigning; she says that I have food, I have water, and not forcing people and not adding messages that take it and go and vote for me.”
…….”we are talking about very enlightened people, teachers, security personnel, and people from the media, and you’re saying that such people will take one pack of rice, fried rice, water, and whatever, which will end up costing 13 cedis, 15 cedis, and that’s what they are going to base their decision to empower somebody to go to parliament or somebody to become the president of the republic or? I think we should give these people credit. What she was doing was goodwill,” he rationalised.
“She was sharing food. Unless we say on Election Day people who are candidates should be camped in a place, they shouldn’t come into public; otherwise, what she was doing was just being a nice human being extending a hand of love to people, and if they want it, they will take it. As seen in the video this morning, people were not taking food; they were taking water; some were taking the food and not taking water. People who need it will take it; those who don’t need it will not take it.”
Richard Ahiagba noted that Madam Seyram wasn’t doing anything to disrupt the process or corrupt the process; she’s just being a good human being.
