New Patriotic Party refutes National Democratic Congress accusations, challenges NDC to address their own campaign falsehoods

The New Patriotic Party (NPP), Ghana’s governing party, has rejected allegations of vote inducement during the recently concluded Assin North by-election in the Central Region. The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) had accused the NPP of distributing money to constituents in an effort to sway their votes in favor of Charles Opoku.

Richard Ahiagbah, the Director of Communications for the NPP, dismissed the claims made by Sammy Gyamfi, the NDC’s National Communications Officer, during an interview on JoyNews. Ahiagbah stated, “Sammy went on a little run there to talk about lies and government inducement or party inducement, you see, those things are just not true.” He expressed concern about the potential impact of spreading falsehoods during future elections and challenged the NDC to address the alleged lies propagated by the NPP during their own campaigns.

According to Ahiagbah, the NDC also disseminated falsehoods in their central campaign message to the constituents. He highlighted two or possibly more lies told by the NDC, including the proposition that voting for James Gyakye Quayson of the NDC would prevent the government from legalizing LGBTQ rights in Ghana. Ahiagbah labeled this claim as a blatant falsehood. He further refuted the NDC’s assertion that the NPP was persecuting Gyakye Quayson, stating that the breach of law committed by Quayson was determined by the Supreme Court and not influenced by the NPP.

Ahiagbah cited the case of Jomoro MP Dorcas Tofey, who presented evidence to support her case, questioning why that situation was not considered persecution. He emphasized that the NPP was not involved in the Supreme Court’s decision.

In response, Sammy Gyamfi, the NDC’s National Communications Officer, denied the NPP’s claim that the NDC deceived the constituents of Assin North. The conflicting statements between the two parties highlight the ongoing controversy surrounding the Assin North by-election.