The Former Deputy Attorney General and Deputy Minister of Justice, Lawyer Joseph Kpemka Dindiok has condemned the high display of vote-buying that characterized the New Patriotic Party parliamentary primaries held across constituencies that the party does not have parliamentary representation.
Speaking in a media interview on Saturday, December 9 2023, the Former Member of Parliament for Tempane Constituency in the Upper East Region described how some parliamentary aspirants engaged in the act of vote buying as shocking.
According to him, even though the incident of vote buying is not a new phenomenon in the country’s electoral process particularly internal party elections among the two leading political parties in the country, the level at which individuals especially parliamentary aspirants of the New Patriotic Party engaged in the act during the orphan constituencies parliamentary primaries was extreme.
“Any amount that is more than GHc100 given to delegates who reside in the constituency cannot be described as transportation. What happened was only a confirmation of all that we knew all this while. What is shocking is the level of impunity with which some of the things were carried out, sharing it publicly, cameras were all there. You can’t give a person within the constituency GHc1000 and call it transportation that is not transportation”.
Lawyer Joseph Kpemka Dindiok
Call For Action Against Culprit Of Vote-Buying
Furthermore, Lawyer Joseph Kpemka Dindiok, the newly elected Parliamentary Candidate for the New Patriotic Party for Tempane Constituency in the Upper East Region called on the appropriate state institutions to take immediate action against individuals who were involved in the act of vote-buying during the New Patriotic Party Parliamentary primaries in its orphan constituencies on Saturday, December 2 2023.
He noted that if appropriate actions are not taken against such individuals who were involved in the act of vote buying during the New Patriotic Party parliamentary primaries in its orphan constituencies across the country, it would encourage others to equally engage in the act in future elections.
“if care is not taken criminals will take over our democracy…if care is not taken the good and competent people will not lead the country because they do not have the fat envelopes to influence voting. This is across the political divide. I gave each delegate GHc100, cedis to come and cast their votes, I did not give anything beyond that that is a matter of public records”.
Lawyer Joseph Kpemka Dindiok
Meanwhile, the opposition National Democratic Congress Member of Parliament for Bongo Constituency in the Upper East Region, Edward Abambire Bawa has urged the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng to pursue the various parliamentary aspirants who allegedly engaged in vote-buying rather than the ordinary delegates who received cash and other items during the December 2 2023 New Patriotic Party orphan constituencies Parliamentary primaries.
According to the Bongo Legislator, the manner in which the various delegates displayed the items and monies they received from the various parliamentary aspirants during the parliamentary primaries gives a certain impression that those people did not appreciate the consequences of vote-buying.
“Nobody will say on TV that they are going to steal because people know what it means, those who captured an area simply don’t understand the concept of vote-buying. You will recall that in the presidential election of the NPP, some people said on TV that they were waiting for Kennedy Agyapong to bring his money. People simply do not even know vote buying is a crime. So what about the big fishes?”.
Edward Abambire Bawa
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