The Electoral Commission (EC) has fired two of it’s polling station officers in the Walewale District for breaking the country’s electoral laws after they allegedly sent a copy of the provisional voter’s register and verification materials to the residence of the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Vice Presidential nominee, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.
The two EC officials identified as Jobe Ambrose and Mumuni Latifa also stand accused by the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) of accepting a GHc 10,000 bribe from Dr Bawumia to bringing the register to his residence.
The dismissal of the two officers was confirmed by the District Election Director,Benjamin Bamubio, in an Interview with Accra based radio station Joy FM. He explained their actions were against the electoral laws of the land.
Mr Bamubio confirmed the incident saying it occurred last Tuesday after the officers left their post because of rain.
“Somebody told them that someone came from a nearby house and they mistakenly went to that house and got somebody verified and then they came back and after six ‘o’ clock they closed the centre.”
He said, “This is something that is against the regulations of the Electoral Commission, so when the information got to me I instructed the supervisirs and they immediately dropped the two and replaced them with new officers.”
Mr Bamubio said although the Commision had observed no changes in the register, the incident will still be reported to the police for further prosecution.
The constituency Communications Officer of the NDC, Imoro Abdul Razak alleges their investigations into the matter has uncovered that Dr Bawumia paid the officers GHc 10,000 to bring the register to his residence. “Our investigations have showed that a senior officer at the district office instructed the said officials who are manning the polling station to send the provisional voters register to Dr Bawumia’s house.”
“The regional minister came into the constituency and went the polling station and got himself verified, so Dr Bawumia as a citizen who is well versed should have told the officer to go back to the station but he did not do that. We have been told that money changed hands. We don’t have any written documents but we were told that money exchanged hands, an amount of GHc10,000”.
The NDC’s allegations have been denied by the Deputy Communications Director of the NPP, Anthony Karbo who explained that the officers of the EC volunteered to come to Dr Bawumia’s residence because of the long queues at the verification centre.
He explained that the practice was not strange occurrence given the closeness of Dr Bawumia’s residence to the verification centre. Mr Karbo added that many traditional rulers were also verified in their homes.
However, he added that when they arrived in the house, Dr Bawumia asked them to go back and that he was going to come to the station to be verified.
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Source: Graphic Online