Election fever is in full force as Ghanaians head to the polls on Saturday, Dec. 7, to exercise their democratic rights to vote. If the just-ended special elections are anything to go by, we should be fastening our belts real tight in anticipation of the bumpy ride ahead.
Election season always comes with some tension and uncertainty, hence all the seemingly unnecessary peace songs (we have even been subjected to one featuring the Singathon nuisance. Do we have to beg her to stop? When will the torture end? We are sorry??) and calls for calm from all parties involved. This is not entirely unnecessary as precious lives have been lost due to electoral violence in the past.
The Electoral Commission of Ghana is not helping matters by taking some very questionable decisions close to the elections, sparking rumors about a possible attempt at rigging the elections in favor of the ruling NPP. From trying to restrict media access to polling stations to suspicious recalling and reprinting of ballot papers in some regions just days to the elections, the EC inspires very little confidence.
One of the most memorable incidents at the special voting exercise was the one where the sitting MP for Ayawaso West Wuogon constituency, Madam Lydia Seyram Alhassan had her team share food to special voters who were in queue to cast their ballots. Even a layman knows this is a desperate attempt at exerting undue influence over voters, however subtle and innocent it might seem.
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For someone who is only in parliament ostensibly by being the widow with the most children of the deceased MP who occupied that seat, one would think Lydia Alhassan would perform exceptionally well to prove her critics wrong. Instead, her reign has been full of shenanigans and unnecesarry displays of power. And now that it is time for her works to speak for her, because she does not have much to show for it, she has resorted to shameless underhand tactics in order to sway votes in her favor.
Despite being seen literally sharing food to voters and getting caught live on camera, the “honorable” Member of Parliament blatantly lied about even being at the said polling station at all. Meanwhile there she is the the video below, adorned in NPP colors and being a real “public servant” by personally handing food to military personnel.
Interestingly, the Electoral Commission has yet to comment on or take action on the obvious violation. Meanwhile, at the same polling station, a voter was arrested by the police for attempting to take a photo of his ballot.
This comes as not much of a surprise, as inequality and selective justice has been the hallmark of the NPP government. An innocent citizen who took food to illegally arrested protesters was arrested, released and rearrested, but an MP corruptly violating electoral laws gets to lie about it with a straight face and sleep comfortably in bed at night.
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Personally I would be offended if an MP who has done nothing for my life showed up just as I was about to vote and offered me food, hoping I’d be senseless enough to immediately change my mind about who I originally intended to vote for. But hey maybe Maa Lydia is just a kindhearted woman who cares deeply about everyone and can’t stand seeing hungry people in a queue. She is never beating the “Bloody Widow” allegations.
SOURCE: theloudlaymen.com