CODEO Says Some Politicians Engaged In Vote Buying In Ashanti, Western And Savannah Regions

• The Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) has indicated that some politicians are engaged in vote-buying
• CODEO noted that some politicians in the Western, Ashanti and Savannah regions have been distributing money and valuables to voters
• It also found that some incumbent MPs were abusing their incumbency in the election campaign process

The Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) has accused some political actors of engaging in vote-buying in the Ashanti, Savannah and Western Regions.

CODEO's second report on the pre-election environment, released on Tuesday, November 19, 2024, stated that some politicians have been found influencing voters’ voting decisions by distributing money and valuables.

The report, which spanned October 26 to November 8, 2024, was based on the weekly observation reports of 97 CODEO Long-Term Observers (LTOs) from 97 constituencies nationwide.

CODEO indicated that, in total, it had received 193 weekly reports from these observers, which were analysed for the final report.

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It said about 10% of the observer reports had detailed vote-buying incidents.

It also noted that some incumbent candidates and government appointees had also been found to have abused their incumbency in their election campaigning.

This was most particularly seen in the use of state vehicles for campaigning on behalf of incumbent candidates.

Some candidates, such as the Member of Parliament for Tatale-Sanguli, had branded the government’s DRIP machines with his campaign posters before distributing them to communities.

CODEO said the only way to ensure that citizens freely express their will in the ballot box would be for the state to enforce the laws that prohibit vote buying and the abuse of incumbency to avoid creating uneven playing fields in the run-up to the election.

EC makes corrections in voter roll

The Electoral Commission (EC) has corrected the initial data on persons registered during the voter registration exercise.

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The commission says 143,014 persons have been registered, but mistakes were also noted in the figures for the Upper East Region.

It explained that the figure for day three for the Upper East Region was repeated.

The commission noted that the errors did not affect its total tabulation of 143,014.

The National Democratic Congress has been disputing the figures put out by the commission, according to Citi News.

EC to hold special voting on December 2

YEN.com.gh reported that the Electoral Commission will hold a special voting session for select professionals on December 2, 2024.

Individuals and organisations must submit applications between June 17 and July 1, 2024, to be eligible for special voting.

All prospective applicants for special voting are to apply to their constituency returning officer.

Source: YEN.com.gh