As Ghana’s election heats up, the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) has accused the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) of engaging in electoral malpractice.
Dennis “Miracles” Aboagye, the communications director for the NPP’s presidential campaign, voiced these allegations during a press briefing on Saturday, December 7.
Aboagye pointed to several incidents of alleged ballot manipulation and pre-thumbprinted papers, suggesting these actions reflect the NDC’s desperation to secure a victory. One such incident involved the arrest of Joseph Derry, a ballot issuer at the Temporary Booth Bayiri polling station in the Techiman South District. Derry is accused of defacing ballots by tearing off the image of NPP’s presidential candidate, Mahamudu Bawumia, from 15 ballot papers issued to voters.
“The NPP is calling for Joseph Derry’s immediate prosecution because his actions were a deliberate attempt to disenfranchise the Ghanaian electorate and deny them their fundamental right to vote,” Aboagye stated.
Aboagye also highlighted the arrest of Charles Fokuo, the NDC youth organizer for the Atwima Kwanwoma constituency, and his son, Kwaku Fokuo, who were allegedly found in possession of 76 thumb-printed ballot papers. He expressed disbelief that the NDC youth organizer would encourage his own son to participate in such a fraudulent act.
“Why would the NDC youth organizer hand over thumb-printed ballot papers to his son and encourage him to cast fraudulent votes?” Aboagye asked.
The communications director argued that these incidents illustrate a “mindset of defeat” within the NDC, claiming they were resorting to “illegalities” because they knew they had lost the support of the Ghanaian people.
Despite these accusations, Aboagye expressed confidence in the vigilance of the Electoral Commission (EC), security agencies, and NPP polling station representatives. “The Electoral Commission is vigilant, the security services are vigilant, and our party representatives at every polling station are on high alert,” he reassured.
Aboagye called on Ghanaians to remain vigilant in ensuring the integrity of the election, encouraging the public to be proactive in preventing such incidents. In his closing remarks, he accused the NDC of attempting to suppress the vote, but expressed belief that their efforts were failing.
“With the numerous arrests that have taken place, it’s clear that their strategy is failing, and they are failing woefully,” Aboagye concluded.
