NDC accuses NPP of 'poisoning' its polling agents

The national leadership of the main opposition National Democratic Congress has again accused the governing NPP of intentionally giving unwholesome food and drinks to its polling agents during the voting days in previous national elections.

"This alleged criminal act was employed by the NPP as a trick to outwit the NDC polling agents in order that they could rig the results of the election in many of the constituencies across the country', Kwabena Adjei, NDC National Chairman, stated these when he addressed the press yesterday at the party headquarters and also used the occasion to launch Polling Station Agents Support Fund of the party.

According to the NDC, after their polling agents had taken the unwholesome food and drink provided by the NPP under the pretext that they were compatriots, some of them were suddenly found dozing off whilst others developed diarrhea, making them lose vigilance in monitoring the voting process.

He claimed the food and the drink offered to their agents by the NPP contained 'sleep-induced substance and laxatives' to make the agents dose off.

Dr Adjei also alleged that in-between the unwholesome 'take away' food there were 'cedi notes" intended to bribe the NDC polling agents.

This was made possible because the NDC polling agents were hungry either due to delay or no provision of food for them on time.

Asked whether they reported the matter to the police, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, NDC General Secretary, was of the view that the party was not ready to litigate on the issue but that they were relying on past experiences to review certain measures as far as the voting day was concerned.

He insisted that the allegation had been documented by the party after the NDC had lost the previous elections.

Against this background, the NDC said it would recruit literate, knowledgeable, committed and loyal party members as polling station agents this time round, who could not compromise their duty by making sure that valid votes cast for the party are protected at the December 7 general elections.

The Fund has therefore been set up to solicit contribution from the party members so that the NDC could provide logistical and financial needs of its polling agents in this year's polls.

The NDC is targeting 100,000 polling station agents and other officials to help the party monitor the voting process on the voting day.