{"id":258422,"date":"2016-10-15T10:54:37","date_gmt":"2016-10-15T10:54:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=258422"},"modified":"2016-10-15T10:54:37","modified_gmt":"2016-10-15T10:54:37","slug":"gii-accuses-bawumia-of-vote-buying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2016\/10\/gii-accuses-bawumia-of-vote-buying\/","title":{"rendered":"GII accuses Bawumia of vote buying"},"content":{"rendered":"

The New Patriotic Party\u2019s running mate, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has been accused of vote buying barely two months to the general elections.<\/p>\n

According to the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) which made the claim, Dr. Bawumia\u2019s borehole he constructed for the Amedzofe College of Education (AMECO) was a \u201clast minute\u201d move \u201caimed at securing votes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Bawumia in June 2016, cut the sod for the construction of a mechanized borehole for AMECO in the Ho-West District of the Volta Region.<\/p>\n

[contextly_sidebar id=”idbYs5gseWo0wQHWJesDjgdMWYbklYCS”]The NPP running mate is said to have initiated the project in fulfillment of a promise he made to the school in a bid to address the perennial water problem confronting the institution.<\/p>\n

But GII in a report released on Friday dubbed: \u201cReducing abuse of incumbency and electoral corruption in Ghana’s election 2016\u201d said the move clearly was to secure votes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Coalition also observed an incident during this monitoring period, where the Vice Presidential Candidate of the NPP, Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia commissioned the construction of a mechanized borehole for the Amedzofe College of Education (AMECO) in the Ho-West District of the Volta Region. This incident can be described as an act of \u201cproviding last minute infrastructure, construction, etc. and the provision of other services to communities aimed at securing votes,\u201d the report added.<\/p>\n

Mahama\u2019s sharing of outboard motors abuse of incumbency<\/strong><\/p>\n

GII in the report also accused President John Mahama of abusing incumbency<\/strong><\/a><\/span> and indulging in electoral corruption, for distributing outboard motors to Fishermen\u00a0during his campaign tour of the Western Region in August.<\/p>\n

\"Mahama,<\/p>\n

\u201cOn August 16, 2016, during President John Mahama\u2019s publicly announced four-day campaign tour of the Western Region, outboard motors and pans were distributed to fishermen in Sekondi.\u00a0\u00a0 On 17th August, 2016, the Spokesperson of the NDC Campaign, Mrs. Joyce Bawa Mogtari indicated…that the distribution of outboard motors were part of an on-going government intervention. She stated that the items were purchased with state funds. The Coalition officially considers this particular incident as unfortunate and a demonstration of the incumbent government engaging in acts that constitute abuse of incumbency.\u201d<\/p>\n

Outboard motor distribution not abuse of incumbency<\/strong><\/p>\n

But Mahama’s adviser on corruption, Daniel Batidam,\u00a0rejected GII’s claims<\/strong><\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Speaking on Eyewitness News<\/strong>, Mr. Batidam, who claimed he was not privy to the President\u2019s move, said \u201cthe outboard motors that were distributed were actually included in government\u2019s budget for the year.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Click here for GII’s full report on vote buying<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

–<\/p>\n

By: Godwin A. Allotey\/citifmonline.com\/Ghana
\nFollow @AlloteyGodwin<\/a>
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