John Dumelo, the Parliamentary Candidate of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Ayawaso West Wuogon, has officially filed a complaint with the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) against the incumbent Member of Parliament, Lydia Seyram Alhassan.
Dumelo has accused the MP of vote-buying following her gesture of providing food to voters during the 2 December special voting exercise.
In a viral video, Lydia Alhassan, dressed in a white shirt, blue cap, and blue jeans, is seen with the NPP’s constituency women’s organiser distributing packs of food in white disposable bags to prison officers queuing to cast their votes at the Legon Police Station.
However, the MP has defended her actions, claiming they were done with a “good heart” and lacked any malicious intent. She stated that the voters had requested the food, which was originally intended for her agents.
In a formal complaint dated 3 December, Dumelo stated:
At about 1 pm, while the special voting was going on, I saw Ms Lydia Seyram Alhassan and a handful of her supporters holding several white plastic bags containing items that were not immediately identifiable. Later, I saw her hand several of these plastic bags to men and women in the queue to cast their ballots. In particular, she handed the bags to each person and whispered into their ears.
I later discovered that some of the bags contained food and other goods, which I believe were intended to influence the voters to cast their ballots in her favour.
The incident has drawn widespread condemnation from sections of the public and stakeholders, including the Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Dr Joseph Whittal.
Below is a copy of John Dumelo’s complaint:
