The Deputy National Communication Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Malik Basintale, claims that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is on a cash-spraying spree in the Assin North Constituency ahead of the June 27, by-election.
He also said that the party is giving out items, including foodstuffs and T-shirts, to buy the votes of constituents.
Basintale made the claim in an interview on Citi FM in Accra yesterday.
“They are spraying cash in Assin North. People were taking T-shirts, and some were given an amount of money. They are proud of doing it, just like they did in Kumawu,” he said.
Basintale indicated that they had captured the acts on video and were ready to show them to the public.
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“This shameless act has been captured on video. We have said that this is something that is no longer done in secrecy. The NPP is all out there doing these things, and they are not shying away from them,” he added.
Basintale, said the situation was worrying because, after the evidence gathered after a similar situation in the Kumawu by-election, the party was not invited for an inquiry into the matter.
“After all the evidence was presented that they were giving some amount of money to delegates, no one was invited. That is what has brought about what is happening today,” he added.
Basintale said the government had used state resources to its advantage and was not being careful about how it was doing so. He said this was not safe for the country’s democracy and foreign relations.
“The only reason we are worried is what the foreign world will say about this, and we don’t think this is safe for our democracy,” he added.
But the National Organizer of the governing NPP, Henry Nana Boakye, strongly refuted claims of vote-buying made by the opposition NDC’s deputy communications Officer, Malik Basintale, ahead of the Assin North by-election.
The deputy communications Officer of the NDC, had accused the NPP of engaging in vote-buying and alleged that he possessed video and picture evidence of Nana Boakye distributing goods to constituents from a vehicle.
Nana Boakye categorically dismissed the accusations and referred to them as baseless lies fabricated by the NDC.
He stated that the NDC was spreading falsehoods due to their realization that they were likely to lose the election.
“Sometimes it’s very difficult to respond to some of these blatant lies. First of all, we have not shared any money. It is pure fabrication and falsehood for the NDC to come and say that the NPP is spraying cash. If their campaign is not confused, why the accusations?
“Our National Chairman and General Secretary are in the rain as I speak, and they have not been spraying any cash, not at all. They [NDC] are rather sharing cutlasses and things, sometimes when they are doing things, they think that somebody is going to say negative things about them, they rather turn round and accuse us,” Henry Nana Boakye clarified.
He clarified that their candidate Charles Opoku owns a charity foundation where he distributes items periodically to the people of Assin North and thus the vehicle captured in the video is one of his humanitarian works.
“Our candidate is the only person who has received accolades and lots of positive remarks about his philanthropic works, that is why he’s so popular. He has a foundation that distributes items and he has done this since 2012.
“As I speak, he has been able to renew the NHIS cards of some people, and new registration of close to about 9,000 people. When Assin North had its own district assembly, he started operating from his own house, free of charge. He has been distributing fertilizers for years, he gives soft loans to the people as well. I can confidently say it is not government funds but our candidate,” he explained.
Nana Boakye accused the NDC of lacking a proper campaign message and resorting to tarnishing the image of the NPP for political gain.
He highlighted the NPP’s effective campaign and the numerous projects they had executed in the constituency.
Nana Boakye, suggested that the NDC’s confusion and lack of a clear message led them to create chaos and make unfounded allegations against the NPP.
“We have an effective campaign on the ground, we have executed numerous projects in the constituency. If their campaign is confused and doesn’t know what to say they should create chaos,” the NPP National Organizer maintained.
