The National Peace Council says it is yet to receive any tangible evidence of vote-buying in the ongoing by-election at Kumawu Constituency in the Ashanti Region.

This is after a delegation from the Council observing the election received reports of such.

Earlier, the Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) had alleged that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is engaging in vote buying ahead of the elections.

Mustapha Gbande said that although the electoral area has been a traditional stronghold of the governing party, it has barely experienced any developmental project, hence the decision by the NPP to influence the voters.

Again, some residents of Wonoo have expressed concerns over alleged money inducement by the governing party.  

They claim that officials from the NPP camp are sharing GH¢20/GH¢10 with electorates who willingly show their voter’s ID card. 

This, they said, is to ascertain whether they are voters and to ensure they get them to vote for their candidate, Ernest Yaw Anim, in the election.

But speaking to JoyNews, a Board Member of the Council in the Ashanti Region, Hakeem Baidoo said no evidence has been provided.

"We are here to find out if it is true that the perception out there (vote-buying) is happening and as of now we are yet to find any.

"Some people are aggressive and are saying that people are giving out money but since we came we have not seen that.

"Those that we saw were on television but we have not seen anything of that sought.

"We are Peace Council officers so we are careful about how we do the observation so we don’t go to places that we shouldn’t be."

Background

The MP for the Constituency, Philip Basoah died on Monday, March 27 leaving the seat vacant.

Mr Basoah, a member of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) was on admission at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital over a serious ailment.

He was subsequently buried on May 20, 2023, paving the way for the Electoral Commission to conduct the by-election.