Vote rigging
The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Tema East has reportedly uncovered several individuals from Kpone Katamanso involved…
The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Tema East has reportedly uncovered several individuals from Kpone Katamanso involved in an illegal voter transfer scheme, said to be orchestrated by Mr Yohane Amarh Ashitey, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Parliamentary Candidate and the Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive. The NDC’s internal security and Constituency and Branch Executives exposed the operation. Individuals were allegedly offered GHS 200 and food packs to participate in the scheme, despite some being NDC sympathisers. Several individuals involved have been apprehended as of 6 June 2024. The NDC demands immediate action from security agencies and the Electoral Commission.
Ghana’s election this year is not just about winning the presidential race; it’s about having a controlling majority in parliament. For the first time in Ghana’s history, the 2020 presidential and parliamentary elections, which gave President Akufo-Addo his second term, also failed to give his ruling party a parliamentary majority. The 275 parliamentary seats were shared in an unprecedented manner — 137 for the ruling NPP and 137 for the opposition party, the NDC. The remaining seat was won by an aggrieved NPP Member of Parliament, who broke away to stand as an independent candidate. It took the negotiation strength of key NPP bigwigs to convince the independent candidate to join them to form a majority and, in exchange, was allowed to become the Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament. This went down in Ghana’s democratic history as the slimmest parliamentary majority, which has put spokes in the majority’s agenda due to the almost equal weight in parliament. The minority has used this advantage to press their demands and make the ruling party somewhat unpopular and powerless. With this unprecedented democratic event in mind, both parties are going into Election 2024 knowing it is possible to win the presidential elections and not a majority in parliament. You do not need to engage in legal or illegal vote transfer schemes to win presidential elections. Most of the reasons why illegal or mass vote transfer schemes are carried out are to help give a parliamentary candidate an undue advantage in the elections. In parliamentary elections, just a single vote can change the winning pattern, and in the 2020 election, there were instances where most of the parliamentary seats were won with margins as low as four votes. Both parties have earmarked these areas as battlegrounds and will do anything to win these seats. Aside from the illegal transfer of votes to targeted constituencies, both parties also take advantage of unique voter populations in universities and senior high schools to draw political capital. In the December polls, much focus will be placed on parliamentary elections, although the presidential election is also one to watch.